


Adventure XXL

by RedOrchid



Series: Adventure XXL and Extras [1]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Action & Romance, Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Reality Show, Camille Belcourt Being An Asshole, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Gen, Hints of Various Others - Freeform, Humor, Long Live Feedback Comment Project, M/M, Mash-up, Paradise Hotel, Some Crack, Survivor - Freeform, The Camera Is Always Watching, the amazing race - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-13
Updated: 2018-03-19
Packaged: 2019-03-29 11:15:40
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 26,858
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13926006
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RedOrchid/pseuds/RedOrchid
Summary: Tune in for a breathtaking adventure—Reality TV like you’ve never seen it before. Join us on an exhilarating ride where contestants are both pitted against each other to complete challenges and forced to find ways to cooperate—as we determine who has the intelligence, strength, creativity and charm to make it to the top.Six teams. One game.This is Adventure XXL.(Aka Jace signs himself and Alec up for a stupid reality show. Once Alec’s there, he meets fellow contestant Magnus, and suddenly the stupid show doesn’t feel quite so stupid anymore)





	1. Introductions

**Author's Note:**

> Massive thank you goes to: 
> 
> \- video artist @causteek, who made the amazing trailer for this fic,  
> \- betas @pameluke, @fannyt and @letswastetime,  
> \- the SH Hiatus Big Bang mods  
> \- everyone on the SH Hiatus BB discord (aka the lemonsquad) who have cheerlead, bounced ideas and just generally been awesome.
> 
> Thank you so much, everyone. <3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _Alec, Jace and Izzy are three hours into their weekly movie night marathon when Jace drops the bomb on him._
> 
> _“There’s something I need to tell you,” Jace says. “But before I do, you have to promise not to kill me.”_

 

Alec, Jace and Izzy are three hours into their weekly movie night marathon when Jace drops the bomb on him.

“There’s something I need to tell you,” Jace says. “But before I do, you have to promise not to kill me.”

Alec raises an unimpressed eyebrow in his direction and pulls the bowl of popcorn closer, as though it will be able to protect him from whatever Jace has to say.

“Is it only Alec that has to promise not to kill you?” Izzy asks, and, when Jace nods in reply, she grins and pulls up her feet to get into a more comfortable position on the couch. “Awesome. Then carry on. I’ll referee your imminent death fight from here.”

Jace rolls his eyes at her, but also loses a bit of tension in his shoulders. He reaches into his back pocket and pulls out a folded piece of paper.

“What did you do?” Alec asks with a sigh, reaching forward to grab the paper as Jace unfolds it and hands it over to him. It’s a letter. From a company called Idris Media Group, telling Jace that they have reviewed his application and have the pleasure to announce that—

He looks up in shock. “You’re going to be on a reality show? Are you out of your mind?”

Jace sends him his most apologetic look, and Alec’s stomach sinks, suddenly realising where this must be going.

He turns back to the letter, feeling his jaw clench more and more the further he reads.

He’s proven right a couple of lines later. It’s not just Jace that’s going to make an ass out of himself in front of millions of people; the letter welcomes _Jace and Alec Lightwood_ onto the show.

***

_MAIN INTERVIEW ROOM—LOS ANGELES STUDIO SET_

INTERVIEWER: You guys are our only sibling pair this season. What made the two of you want to sign up for _Adventure XXL—The Adventure HOTTER Than Hell!_?

_ALEC turns to JACE, crossing his arms expectantly._

JACE: Well, Alec and I have always been very competitive, and we love to push ourselves. And since we came back from our last tour overseas, I guess we’ve been—missing the adventure, you know?

ALEC _, monotone_ : What he said.

INTERVIEWER: So you were both in the military?

JACE: Marines, yes. Alec here made it all the way to Captain.

ALEC: First Lieutenant’s only one rank below.

JACE: Still.

INTERVIEWER: Wow! So you’re both heroes! That’s so cool!

ALEC: …

JACE, _quickly, with his most disarming grin_ : Just happy to do our part, ma’am.

***

Alec in no way tears off his microphone and storms off the set after his and Jace’s interview is done. He walks. Briskly. As far away from the intrusive cameras as possible. He might have caved to Jace’s pleas and agreed to help him win the huge amount of money that lies at the end of the game, but that doesn’t mean he has to _like_ it.

Once he finds a quiet corner, he pulls his phone from his back pocket and starts scrolling for Izzy’s number. Before he has the chance to find it, someone bumps into him from behind, making him stumble.

“Hey!”

“Whoa, I’m sorry,” the man who just walked into him says. He grabbed Alec’s arm for balance as they collided, and is only now letting go. Their eyes meet as the other man straightens himself, taking a step back, and Alec is suddenly left speechless.

 _Brown_ , his brain comments, uselessly. The man’s eyes are a deep, dark shade of brown, framed by thick, black lashes and some kind of metallic shimmer that just makes them all the more alluring. Alec’s heart stutters in his chest, and then finds a new, quicker rhythm. He swallows hard, telling himself that he should look away, or at least say something.

He fails at doing either.

“Sorry for being such a klutz,” the other man says with a chuckle, after they’ve been staring at each other for a moment too long. “I’m Magnus. I don’t think we’ve been formally introduced?”

“Alec,” Alec manages. Magnus’s hand is warm in his, squeezing Alec’s with just the right amount of pressure. _Perfect_ , Alec’s mind supplies, nonsensically. The handshake lingers, and for every extra second that passes, Alec’s burgeoning blush becomes more and more of a problem.

“Pleasure to meet you,” Magnus says, his touch still lingering, as though he doesn’t quite want to let go of Alec’s hand.

“I, um—I need to get going, actually,” Alec says, ducking his head to hide the worst of his blush. “I need to call my sister and—” he breaks off, belatedly realising just how bad the words ‘plot ways to kill our brother’ would sound to a stranger.

“Sounds important,” Magnus says, with another devastating smile. Their hands are still touching. “Any chance you’d put that on hold to help me out, though? It’s a bit of an emergency.”

Alec swallows again, all thought of Izzy and Jace leaving his mind. “What is it?”

“I’m here with my colleague,” Magnus replies. “We’re both in academia, and, well, there was a bet involved in us coming there—let’s just leave it at that. Anyway, we’ve been here all of ten minutes, and he’s already gone off somewhere to sulk. We’re next up for the interview segment. Help me track him down?”

Alec clears his throat. God, he really needs to get a grip. “Um. Yeah, sure. What does he look like?”

“Lots of tweed,” Magnus answers. “He’s taking his British heritage to an embarrassing level, even though he’s barely even lived there.”

Alec’s eyebrows rise in surprise. They’re on an outdoor set in LA. The sun is high in the sky and the temperature is in the high eighties. He looks around, automatically searching for places that would provide some relief from the heat.

“There’s an indoor canteen over by the next building that has air con. It’s open access, unlike the nearby studios.”

It’s Magnus’ turn to look taken aback. And then his surprise morphs back into a smile, this one somehow even worse than the previous ones when it comes to wrecking havoc on Alec’s system.

“You’re a genius,” Magnus says happily. “Would you like to—”

Alec never finds out the end of that sentence, because a girl with a clipboard comes jogging up to them, telling Magnus that his partner is back on set, and that they really need to start filming.

“Good luck,” Alec blurts, just as Magnus starts walking away. “Um. With the… you know. Interview,” he adds, when Magnus looks back at him over his shoulder. “Good luck with your interview.”

“Thank you, Alec,” Magnus replies. The girl with the clipboard makes an impatient sound, and then grabs Magnus by the elbow and starts to bodily drag him back towards the set.

The sound of Magnus’ departing laughter stays with Alec for an embarrassingly long time.

***

_MAIN INTERVIEW ROOM—LOS ANGELES STUDIO SET_

_News footage of a dramatic accident plays across the screen. In the centre is the wreckage of a school bus, tipped over on its side on a highway. Emergency response vehicles surround the site. A montage shows LYDIA in a firefighter’s uniform, working side by side with JOHN and his fellow EMTs. The montage ends on a massive explosion, the camera closing in on LYDIA’s face, as she throws herself to the ground to shield the child she’s carrying from the flames._

LYDIA, _leaning against JOHN and smiling sweetly into the camera_ : ...so that’s how we met. After we got all the children safely to the hospital, John asked me out to dinner.

JOHN: Which we ended up spending most of it saving the life of a man having a heart attack.

_JOHN takes LYDIA’s hand, bringing it to his lips for an adoring kiss._

JOHN: It was his and his wife’s fiftieth wedding anniversary. We actually got the chance to celebrate it with them a few weeks later, once he was out of the hospital.

LYDIA, _turning to the INTERVIEWER and wiping away a stray tear_ : Sometimes you meet someone where you least expect it, and know that things are just meant to be, you know?

***

“Listen up, everyone! My name—as I expect you already know—is Luke Garroway, and I’ll be your invaluable guide throughout this adventure!”

Alec looks up from his lunch. The man who called out the words is standing up on the small stage situated in the centre of the food court. He’s keeping a wide stance, his hands on his hips as he surveys the room. Confident. Strong. Extremely handsome and well aware of the fact. Alec’s eyes drop from the man’s face to his wide, toned chest for a moment, before he catches himself and quickly looks away. Next to him, Jace snorts into his drink, having obviously caught him.

“Don’t blame yourself,” he tells Alec quietly, bumping him with his elbow. “Garroway’s been voted _Hottest Man on Earth_ two years in a row. I saw a magazine just last week that described him as ‘the definition of tall, dark and handsome’. Izzy _loves_ the guy.”

“Alright! Everyone, look at your partners. Now back to me. Back at your partners. Then _back to me_. I know what you’re all thinking, and while I’d love to take each of you lovely ladies and gentlemen on the Adventure. Of. Your. Life. that’s not the format of this show, so let’s get the ball rolling, shall we?”

As Alec watches on in astonishment, Garroway holds out his hands, catches a basketball that someone from the sidelines throws him, and squeezes it. The ball—which has _got_ to be a fake, Alec’s mind argues weekly—bursts open between his hands, sending a virtual rainfall of glittering stones pouring down onto the stage.

“Would you look at that, ladies?” Garroway says. “The ball is now _diamonds_! Welcome to Adventure XXL, everyone!”

A rocky, upbeat soundtrack starts to play while the people around Alec get to their feet, cheering and applauding. Jace is among them, an excited smile firmly in place on his face as he drags Alec up as well.

“Come on, look excited; they’re filming this part,” Jace whispers, and then lets out a loud whoop, jumping up and down in time with the beat.

“I will kill you, and Izzy will help me do it,” Alec murmurs back, forcing himself to clap. “No one will ever find the body.”

“Nope, no killing,” Jace replies happily. “You promised. No take backs.” He throws an arm around Alec’s shoulders just in time for one of the cameras filming to veer their way.

Alec grits his teeth and resolutely doesn’t smile.

***

_MAIN INTERVIEW ROOM—LOS ANGELES STUDIO_

_A montage of two children playing in a field plays on the screen. The footage is grainy and a little shaky, clearly home-video quality. In the background, a female voice can be heard, calling out to the children to be careful as they tumble around, chasing butterflies._

INTERVIEWER: So, Clary, Simon, you’ve been best friends since childhood?

CLARY: Yeah, we’ve grown up together. Always been there for each other. So when I wanted to apply to be on this show, Simon was the first person I asked to come with me.

SIMON: We make a really good team.

CLARY: We do. Remember the time when—?

SIMON, _grins_ : When Amber Thompson—?

CLARY: Yeah!

_Both start laughing._

INTERVIEWER:  Do you think your strong friendship will help you on the show?

SIMON: Oh, definitely. We’re perfectly in sync. The other teams are going to wish they had the teamwork we’ve got going on.

CLARY, _holds up her hand for a high-five, grinning at back him_ : Bring it on!

***

“Ugrh, I think I’m going to be sick,” the beautiful and dangerous-looking brunette standing a couple of yards away from Alec says to the man next to her. “Those two are like the human version of apple pie. It’s revolting.”

“One wrench in the works, and they’ll come tumbling down,” the man next to her replies. “Look at him. He’s carrying a torch for her that could light up all of New York. Getting them to fall apart will be almost insultingly easy.”

“True,” the woman replies, an almost predatory grin spreading across her face. “Well spotted, Raphael. They won’t pose a challenge to us; I’ll make sure of it. Besides, he’s _delicious_.”

Even from where he’s standing, Alec can see Raphael roll his eyes to the heavens. He shakes his head and walks out of the room, starting to write a new message in his and Izzy’s thread.

 **_Been here less than a day, and there’s already people stirring up drama_ ** **,** he writes.

Izzy’s reply comes through in less than a minute.

**_Did anyone form a pact yet?_ **

Alec frowns. **_I don’t think so?_ ** he writes back. **_Is that something we’re supposed to be doing?_ **

**_It’s either that or sleep with another contestant,_** Izzy replies. **_You need to bring some drama if you want to stick around to the end._**

Alec rolls his eyes at his phone. **_Thanks but no thanks._ **

**_Don’t be such a buzzkill,_ ** Izzy writes. **_Sorry, have to go! Surgery in twenty._ **

**_Go save lives,_ ** Alec replies, smiling down at his phone as Izzy sends back a row of emojis. He takes a deep breath, puts his phone back into his pocket and then goes off to find Jace.

Apparently, the next part of preparations is wardrobe.

***

_A rocky soundtrack accompanies footage of extreme skiing that plays on the screen. Two skiers, both in red, set off down a glacier, cutting a neat pattern through the powder snow, then flying off a ledge and vaulting in the air together before landing and continuing down the slope. The music fades, and the camera cuts to ALINE and HELEN, whose chairs have been placed noticeably further apart than they’ve been for the other contestants._

INTERVIEWER: So you’re former skiing rivals who turned best friends! And so gorgeous, both of you! Men must be falling all over themselves to get your attention!

_ALINE and HELEN are both smiling. Both smiles look a little strained around the edges._

ALINE: We do all right.

INTERVIEWER: Do you ever end up fighting over the same guy?

_HELEN ducks her head. ALINE glances over at her, and the corners of her mouth twitch._

ALINE: Can’t say we do.

INTERVIEWER: Well, there are some really handsome single guys around, so take care, girls. Someone might swoop in and steal one or both of your hearts before you know it.

HELEN: Actually, my heart is already quite taken.

_ALINE turns towards her in surprise, while the INTERVIEWER looks suddenly uncomfortable. Something happens out of frame, drawing all three women’s attention. There’s a tense moment of silence, and then HELEN turns back to the camera with a smile, her green-blue eyes wide and innocent._

HELEN: … with skiing! It’s really my one true love.

ALINE, _quickly, doing her best to keep back a grin_ : Me too. I _love_ skiing. Especially going down… hill, you know? Such a rush.

HELEN: You could go so far as to say we’re experts in that discipline.

INTERVIEWER: It says here in my notes that you’ve both won the World Cup, so I’d say so!

ALINE, _completely straight-faced_ : The key to high performance is natural talent combined with lots and lots of practice.

***

After three full days of interviews, wardrobe, photoshoots, and more paperwork to fill out than Alec cares to count, they’re finally ready to start filming the competition part of the show. There’s a cocktail party arranged in the bar of their hotel on their last night there, which Jace drags him along to. Alec reluctantly puts on one of the nicer shirts that Izzy made him pack and follows him, then orders a beer and stays at the bar while Jace goes off to mingle.

The bar itself is actually quite nice. Most people have joined the large group of cast and crew at the other end of the room, so Alec gets to sit and drink his beer in relative peace. It’s good beer too. Nothing complicated or overly hoppy like the beer some of Jace’s friends like to bring over, just simple and cold, drawn by a friendly bartender who doesn’t try to chat and who brings Alec a small bowl of nuts with every refill.

Alec hums happily to himself and throws another handful into his mouth.

“Mind if I join you?”

Alec very narrowly avoids choking. He swallows too many nuts at once and has to take a gulp of beer to help ease the way, his eyes watering as he tries not to cough.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you,” Magnus says. “I saw you here, and thought I’d come say hello.”

“Hi,” Alec manages, happily accepting the glass of water that Magnus seems to have procured out of thin air. He gulps it down and sets the empty glass back on the bar. “Thank you.”

“No problem,” Magnus replies. “It was really my fault for sneaking up on you like that. Can I buy you another drink as an apology?”

Alec feels the back of his neck heat up. It’s not the first time a guy has come up to him in a bar and made such an offer, but Magnus easily sails into the list of the top ten most attractive ones.

“Um,” he says, eloquently. “Sure, yeah. I, uh—I’d like that.”

“Great,” Magnus replies, and Alec immediately loses himself in his smile. Eyes. His whole...everything.

Jesus, he really needs to get a grip.

Magnus leans across the bar to get the attention of the bartender, causing the fabric of his jacket to strain across his shoulders and arms. Alec quickly looks away, draining the last of his beer in a vain attempt to cool himself down.

“Here we go,” Magnus says, taking the drinks the bartender puts in front of them and sliding one of them over to Alec. He raises his own in salute, nudging the edge of the glass against the side of Alec’s. “To friendly competition.”

Alec nods and does his best not to stare at the way Magnus’ throat moves as he swallows. He brings his own drink to his lips and gulps down a third of it in one go. Magnus takes pity on him and keeps the conversation light; they go over the regular getting-to-know-each-other topics—hobbies, pets, favourite TV shows. Alec learns that Magnus has two cats, one of which might be a demon, but Magnus adores it anyway.

“He used my favourite leather jacket as a scratching pole,” Magnus tells him with a slight pout. “And then he stretched himself out and rolled around on it, looking up at me like he was daring me to do something about it. That cat will be the death of me someday, I swear to God.”

Alec has to brace himself against the bar, he’s laughing so hard. He can’t remember the last time he laughed like this with someone other than Izzy or Jace. Magnus grumbles something and takes his phone out of his pocket, scrolling through it until he finds a picture of an extremely smug-looking cat and holds it up to show Alec.

Alec dissolves into a new bout of laughter.

“Another round?” Magnus asks, once Alec’s managed to pull himself mostly back together, motioning at Alec’s almost empty glass.

Alec frowns, trying to remember how many he’s already had. His world has got a little soft around the edges, but whenever he looks at Magnus, his head feels crystal clear. “I probably shouldn’t. We’re shipping out tomorrow.”

Magnus lets out a surprised laugh. “You make it sound as though we’re going off to war.”

“Sorry. Habit, I guess.”

“Yes, I saw your interview,” Magnus says. “Captain. That’s very impressive.”

Alec shrugs, even as his heart beats faster at the flirty tone in Magnus’ voice. “I was just doing my job.”

“Intelligent, competent _and_ humble,” Magnus says, the corner of his mouth twisting upwards. “You’d better show one of your bad sides soon, Alexander; you’re dangerously close to giving me a complex.”

“I’m nothing special.”

“I don’t believe that,” Magnus replies, and the flirty look in his eyes turns into something softer, more sincere. Something that manages to take Alec’s breath away for a moment.

Alec quickly breaks away from Magnus’ gaze, realising he’s been staring again. The back of his neck burns as he clears his throat and leans across the bar to catch the attention of the bartender, ordering another round for both of them.

Magnus doesn’t call him out on it, but the mood between them feels like it’s shifted somehow. Turned less flirty and more… Alec clears his throat again, pulling his gaze away from where it’s subconsciously dropped to Magnus’ lips.

“What do you think will happen tomorrow?” Magnus asks, accepting the new glass that the bartender brings him.

“They’ll drop us in the wilderness somewhere,” Alec guesses. “Give us enough supplies to make our way to the nearest city and then have us find our way to the next point on the map.”

“Your brother seems the kind that can charm his way to almost anything.”

Alec grins and rolls his eyes. “He thinks he can, at least.”

“Mhm,” Magnus agrees. “Between you and me? I think you’d get a lot further working off of _your_ charms.”

“Huh?”

“You’re an intriguing man, Alexander,” Magnus says. “I’m looking forward to seeing all that you can do.”

“I hope I won’t disappoint.”

“I don’t see how you could,” Magnus replies. His hand slides closer to Alec’s on the top of the bar, his fingers brushing against Alec’s knuckles and then mapping out the lines of each of Alec’s fingers in turn, his touch featherlight and absolutely maddening. “You’ve got beautiful hands.”

Alec very narrowly manages to keep back the moan that wants to break from his throat.

“So, I was wondering,” Magnus continues, while his fingers continue their path over the back of Alec’s hand, down towards the inside of his wrist, “does your brother usually stay out late for these kinds of events?”

Heat travels down the length of Alec’s spine. He turns and looks over to the other end of the room, and spots Jace, who seems to be in the middle of an animated discussion with Helen and Aline.

“Um. I—I’m pretty sure I could persuade him to?”

Magnus’ answering smile makes Alec shift restlessly in his seat. He fumbles for his wallet to settle the last round of drinks, trying to will his body into submission by imagining just how awkward it would be to stand in front of the rest of the cast and crew with an obvious hard on.

“I’ll be right back,” he tells Magnus. “I’ll just—”

Magnus stops him with a hand on his arm.

“Hang on, I think I have an even better idea.”

As Alec watches, he motions the bartender over, then leans across the bar and tells her something that’s too quiet for Alec to overhear.

The bartender raises an eyebrow and then smirks, neatly palming the keycard and folded up twenty dollar bill that Magnus passes to her. “The blond one, you say?”

“Room 405,” Magnus replies. “And tell him to please be quiet when he gets in; my room mate likes his sleep uninterrupted.”

“Will do,” the girl says, her smirk widening as Magnus takes Alec’s hand, starting to pull him away. “Have a great night.”

“You too,” Alec replies dazedly, and then feels himself flush as the girl laughs. He tightens his fingers around Magnus’ and picks up his pace, arousal pulsing steadily stronger through his bloodstream as they exit the bar and head towards the elevator.


	2. Race To the Finish Line, part I

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _“I’ll see you in Orlando,” Magnus replies, and the look in his eyes is very nearly enough to make Alec say ‘fuck it’ to the whole competition and drag Magnus with him to the nearest hotel._
> 
> _“Yeah,” he says instead, swallowing hard as the readjusts himself in his jeans and then runs a hand through his hair in an attempt to smooth it down. “We’ll—I, um—”_
> 
> _“Go,” Magnus says, making a shooing motion with his hand. “Now. Before one of us caves and changes his mind.”_

“You suck.”

Alec reluctantly opens his eyes. Jace is standing next to his bed with his hands on his hips and a put-upon expression. Alec groans and turns his head away, burying his face into the pillow.

The pillow that still smells like Magnus. Alec smiles, breathing in the lingering scent. God, last night was— 

“I’d rant about it to Izzy,” Jace continues, pulling him back out of his thoughts, “but she’d just laugh at me and then send you a million high fives emojis.”

Alec groans again; as much as he loves his sister, she tends to go overboard on being supportive whenever Alec shows interest in someone.

“Magnus’ roommate is charming, by the way,” Jace continues glibly. “Tweed PJs, very eloquent. I’m pretty sure he insulted me in at least twenty different ways. I stopped counting after ten or so.”

That pulls a chuckle from Alec’s chest. He can just picture it now: Jace and Ragnor Fell trying to navigate around each other when going about their morning routine.

“You’re not even a little sorry, are you?” Jace accuses, and Alec can tell from the tone that Jace is rolling his eyes. “Well, I’m glad one of us got laid. You know, for a minute there, I thought the hot bartender was into me, but no. She just wanted to make fun of me while delivering the news that I’d been sexiled for the night.”

“You’re right,” Alec replies, which comes out a bit muffled since he still has his face buried in his pillow. “I’m not sorry. Mostly because I know you’d have done the same to me. Consider it payback for all the nights I had to sleep on Raj and Duncan’s floor back in college.”

Jace scoffs. Then he reaches out and grabs the edge of Alec’s blanket, pulling it off him in one swift move and leaving Alec scrambling for something to cover himself with.

“Come on. Get up and get dressed,” Jace says, grinning now as he throws a pair of jeans at Alec’s head. “We’re due in the lobby for departure in half an hour.”

***

The small lobby of their hotel is in a state of tightly ordered chaos when Alec and Jace join up. They’ve all been asked to get in gear for the competition and to have their packing with them, so there are backpacks taking up most of the space and blocking Alec’s view as he tries to survey the room.

“Looking for someone?” Jace teases, then spots something to the right of the room and starts pulling Alec over. “Come on, the film crew is over there. Let’s try and charm some clues about the first leg of the race out of them.”

“I don’t think we—” Alec tries, before giving up and letting Jace drag him along. Jace starts flirting with one of the camera operators, and Alec does his best to join in the conversation, even as his eyes keep scanning the room. He spots Simon and Clary playing some kind of card game over by the couches to one side; Lydia and John in matching outfits by the window; Helen and Aline drinking coffee from massive take-away cups. The elevator opens, and Ragnor and Raphael step out, looking like they’re in the middle of an animated conversation. Alec cranes his neck—Magnus is still nowhere to be seen.

Forty minutes later—after the crew has ushered everyone else into the bus parked outside, where they’ve now been sitting and waiting for the past twenty-five minutes—the doors to the hotel open, and Magnus hurries out, with Camille on his heels.

“Sorry, sorry,” Alec hears him say, as he and Camille climb into the bus and sit down in the empty seats in front of Ragnor and Raphael. “That took way longer than expected.”

“Oh, don’t worry, they wouldn’t have left without us,” Camille says, tossing her hair nonchalantly over her shoulder. “They’ve already shot all the footage for the introduction reel.”

“Everyone, please fasten your seatbelts!” a harried-looking assistant calls out. “We’re behind schedule, so we need to get going right away if we’re going to make it to the airport on time.” 

He sends a dirty look Magnus and Camille’s way, and while Magnus has the grace to look apologetic, Camille just smiles sweetly back at him.

“It was an emergency,” she explains, to no one in particular. “Magnus was gallant enough to come to my rescue.”

“You broke a nail,” Raphael shoots back, clearly annoyed. “How the hell does that take over an hour to fix?”

Camille smirks back at him and then leans her head against Magnus’ shoulder. The gesture is flirty, intimate even. Magnus stiffens in surprise, but doesn’t make a move to push her away. Alec suddenly feels a lot colder than he did a minute ago.

As though Magnus can feel Alec’s eyes on him, he turns his head around. A smile starts up on his face, only to pause and then falter. Alec crosses his arms, trying to keep his face from showing too much as he meets Magnus’ eyes. He nods pointedly in Camille’s direction, raising an eyebrow in silent question.

Magnus gives the smallest shrug of his shoulders, then carefully tilts his own head to indicate the rest of the passengers on the bus. Who are all looking at Magnus and Camille with various levels of curiosity and annoyance.

Alec’s stomach clenches, a diffuse kind of frustration he recognises all too well starting to sink its claws into his chest. The sting of disappointment only lasts a moment or two, however, and then the more rational side of Alec’s brain steps in to remind him of how very, very public their lives are about to get. If Magnus wants to keep things on the down-low in front of everyone, Alec can definitely do that. Hell, It’s probably better this way. Less scrutiny, no pressure on either of them.

He sighs and breaks away from Magnus’ gaze, turning his head to look out the window. Jace nudges him, a murmured ‘everything okay, there, buddy?’, exactly what Alec needs to pull himself together.

He gives Jace a nod, and then pulls his phone out of his pocket. He still has at least an hour before he has to turn it in for the start of the competition. He might as well take advantage of the time to make a dent in the pile of funny memes that flood his inbox on a daily basis.

***

“Alexander, wait up, I need to talk to you.”

Alec slows his steps, allowing Magnus to catch up with him. They’re in the airport, and the flight he and Jace have chosen for the first part of the race is boarding in less than ten minutes. So far, they’ve managed to keep mostly to themselves, making use of the time before their flight to go over the maps they brought, debating over which will be the fastest way to pick once they land.

He doesn’t know what flight Magnus and Ragnor have picked, or what Magnus wants to talk to him about. He’s fairly sure that neither of them wants to have an audience for whatever it is, though, and when he looks around, it only takes him seconds to spot one of the camera teams hovering nearby. Before he can analyse what he’s doing, he’s giving Magnus a meaningful look and crossing the aisle, heading for the bathrooms by the opposite gate.

Magnus follows him inside, but instead of simply stopping at the door, he grabs Alec’s hand and leads him over to the last stall at the back of the room, ushering him inside and sliding the lock shut behind them.

Alec’s heart goes into overdrive. The situation is too similar to the occasional late night spent in random bars for his mind and body not to immediately make the connection. He draws in an unsteady breath, his hands landing on Magnus’ hips out of their own accord, before he realises what he’s doing and lets them fall back to hang uselessly by his sides.

“You wanted to talk to me?” he manages, even as he sees Magnus’ eyes flicker down to his lips. And,  _ God _ , that, in itself, sets off flashes of memories of the night before—Magnus’ lips, hot and eager against Alec’s own, the wetness of his tongue, the hint of teeth as Magnus moved away from his lips and started mouthing his way down Alec’s neck…

“I didn’t get a chance to say good morning earlier,” Magnus says, leaning closer and sliding his own hands around Alec’s waist. “And I really wanted to.”

The last couple of words are whispered against the sensitive skin of Alec’s neck, sending a shiver of desire all the way down Alec’s spine. His hands move back to Magnus’ hips, then slides up the length of his back, bringing the fabric of Magnus’ shirt with them as they go.

“Morning,” Alec hears himself murmuring, and then Magnus’ mouth is sliding against his own, smiles widening as they brush against each other before getting lost when the kiss grows deeper.

Magnus’ hands find the row of buttons down the front of Alec’s shirt and undo each one with quick, impatient movements. Alec muffles the moan that breaks from his throat against Magnus’ neck, his own hands nearly shaking as he struggles to get Magnus’ belt unbuckled.

_ This is the final call for American Airlines flight 2420 to Jacksonville. All remaining passengers, please proceed to gate 42B. _

Alec groans, every cell in his body yelling at him as he puts his hands on Magnus’ shoulders and pushes him away, creating a few inches of crucial distance.”

“I’ve got to go.”

“Why?” Magnus pants, grabbing the front of Alec’s shirt to pull him back in. “We still have an hour before boarding.”

“Our flight’s boarding now; we picked the one to Jacksonville.”

“ _ Damn _ ,” Magnus curses, his head dropping so that his forehead is leaning against Alec’s right shoulder. His lips are so close to touching, that Alec can feel the warmth of Magnus’ breath against his skin. It makes him want to grab Magnus’ face and pull him into another kiss, push him up against the thin wall separating their cubicle from the one next to it and drop to his knees in front of him.

He can still remember every detail about how Magnus’ hips moved the night before, how they strained against Alec’s grip in stuttering pushes, as though Magnus wanted to keep still but just couldn’t seem to help himself. He remembers the taste as well, the salty bitterness coating his tongue, the slight burn at the back of his throat afterwards. His hands shake as he refastens his shirt, taking another step back.

“I’ve really got to go.”

“I’ll see you in Orlando,” Magnus replies, and the look in his eyes is very nearly enough to make Alec say ‘fuck it’ to the whole competition and drag Magnus with him to the nearest hotel.

“Yeah,” he says instead, swallowing hard as the readjusts himself in his jeans and then runs a hand through his hair in an attempt to smooth it down. “We’ll—I, um—”

“Go,” Magnus says, making a shooing motion with his hand. “Now. Before one of us caves and changes his mind.”

Alec leaves, practically running back to his gate and finding Jace just in time for them to join the end of the line of people boarding.

His heart keeps hammering in his chest for several minutes afterwards, thoughts of Magnus popping back into his head and keeping him trembling and on edge, even as he does his best to push them away and focus on the task ahead.

“You know, if you’re this worked up, maybe you should go take care of the problem,” Jace says, looking pointedly in the direction of the airplane toilets. “Just saying. You know I love you and all, but I don’t feel like sitting next to you sporting a boner that can be seen from Mars for the next five hours.”

“I’m fine,” Alec says, through gritted teeth. He rolls up the in-flight magazine and swats Jace over he head with it. It helps a little—for about five seconds, until the memory of Magnus’ tongue against the inside of his thigh crosses his mind.

“Yeah, I can see how totally unaffected you are,” Jace replies. “Seriously, man. Go take care of it so that you can get your mind back in the game. I need to win this.”

“I hate you,” Alec throws back, then reaches up over his head and presses the in-flight button.

He could definitely use some ice cold water right about now.

***

_ Flashing montage of California scenery, interspersed with clips of the teams as they run through the LA airport to make their way to their flights. _

LUKE V.O.: And the race is on! For the first leg, the teams get to choose between three different flights, which will all take them one step closer to their first rendez-vous point: Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida!

_ Clips of airplanes taxiing and taking off, the airline logos prominently displayed as clips of each team finding their seats and settling in for the flight are cut in from the top right corner. _

LUKE V.O.: Four teams went for the first flight to take off, heading for Miami—the airport furthest away from their goal out of the three provided, but giving the teams who picked it a two hour head start. Our last two teams chose to be more daring, holding out for the flights to Jacksonville and Orlando. Will their gamble pay off? Let’s check in and find out, as our teams race towards the finish line!

_ Show logo flashes across the scene, flames spelling out the words ‘Adventure XXL’ against a wooden backdrop. _

LUKE V.O.: After the break, fear grips not one, but three of our contestants! Stay tuned for more excitement from the ultimate adventure. Adventure XXL—the adventure HOTTER than hell!


	3. Race To the Finish Line, part II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _“Welcome to Universal Studios!” Jace reads from the card they’ve been given. “Your first adventure task will shoot you towards your goal at a blistering 65 mph. This rockin’ ride became a record-breaker with the world’s first non-inverted loop—” He breaks off, and Alec sees him swallow. The hand holding the card begins to shake._

“Welcome to Universal Studios!” Jace reads from the card they’ve been given. “Your first adventure task will shoot you towards your goal at a blistering 65 mph. This rockin’ ride became a record-breaker with the world’s first non-inverted loop—” He breaks off, and Alec sees him swallow. The hand holding the card begins to shake. Alec glances at the camera crew following them and moves in closer, pretending to read the note over Jace’s shoulder, while angling his body to block his face from the cameras.

“Jace, are you okay?” he asks, pitching his voice low. “Breathe, okay? Just—deep breaths. Again.”

Jace’s face has gone deathly pale. He keeps swallowing, and Alec can tell just by looking at him that he’s struggling to keep it together. He mentally curses their luck. Of all things they could have been faced with, it just had to be a massive roller coaster. Alec doesn’t much like them either, but he’d gladly ride one a hundred times if it would mean that Jace got to stay on the ground.

“Hey,” he tries again, putting a hand on Jace’s shoulder in an attempt to steady him. “It’s okay. We can forfeit the task and take the penalty.  _ It’s okay _ .”

Jace shakes his head vigorously, his face settling in a determined sort of grimace. “No. I can do this.” He swallows again and looks up at Alec. Tries to smile. “I mean, it’s just a minute, right? If we don’t do it, we’ll barely have any money for the next leg of the race.”

“So we’ll hitchhike. It won’t be that bad.”

“Yeah, right. And what if the next goal on the map is somewhere in Europe?”

“Then the other teams will get a little bit of a head start,” Alec replies, relieved when the corner of Jace’s mouth twitches. “Seriously. It’ll be okay.”

“No,” Jace says again. He shakes out his shoulders and then looks up, meeting Alec’s eyes. “We can do this.”

“Okay,” Alec replies. He holds up his hand between them. Jace takes it, his grip too tight around Alec’s fingers as Alec pulls him in and they share a brief hug. “Yeah, okay. Let’s go do this.”

***

“It was  _ so _ awful, Izzy,” Alec says, dropping his face into his hands for a moment.

He and Jace have made their way across Florida—to their next pit stop near Clearwater—where they have checked into their assigned hotel and been given back phone privileges until the next leg of the race is set to start the following morning.

“How many times did he puke?” Izzy asks, worry clear in her voice.

“Five, I think. Twice partly on me.”

“Urgh,” Izzy agrees. “How’s he doing now?”

“He’s taking another shower. And he managed to sleep for half an hour, so he’s better, I think. We’re going to go out and try to get something to eat in a while. Cross your fingers.”

“Don’t go anywhere nice,” Izzy advices. “It’ll just be a waste of money.”

“Wasn’t planning on it.” There’s the sound of someone knocking, and Alec frowns, thinking that he might have misheard until it comes again, louder this time. “Hang on, there’s someone at the door.”

“Text me later,” Izzy replies. “And good luck!”

“Thanks, Iz, I will.”

He hangs up and puts his phone back in his pocket, then walks over to open the door.

“Hi, Alec,” Aline says. “Helen and I were heading out to see if we can find a decent burger place around here. Do you and Jace want to join us?”

Alec hesitates, but then figures that, what the hell, Jace will probably feel better if he’s got people distracting him while he tries to eat. In addition, leaving the hotel to have dinner would mean escaping the camera crew for a couple of hours, and after the day they’ve had, Alec is very much in favour of that happening. “Um. Yeah, sure. Jace’s in the shower though, but as soon as he’s done, we’re free.”

“Great!” Aline exclaims. “See you downstairs in the lobby in half an hour?”

“Sure,” Alec says again. “We’ll meet you there.”

***

“I just  _ love _ roller coasters,” Helen says, in between bites of her burger “The speed, the turns, the loops—I just love all of it. Such a thrill.”

“Yeah, could we maybe not talk about that?” Alec asks. “Jace here is still recovering.”

Next to him, Jace sends him a grateful look. He’s been getting through the meal okay, so far, and Alec, for one, would very much like to keep it that way. They’re both running out of clean clothes to change into, for one.

“Sorry. If it makes you feel better, you weren’t the only one having a tough time, though,” Helen replies, looking sincerely apologetic as her eyes fall to Jace, noting the way he still looks a little green. “We arrived at Universal at the same time as Clary and Simon, but I don’t know if they actually made it on the ride. Clary was white as a sheet when we left them.”

“At least we know it can only get better from here,” Jace says. He takes a long drink of his water and then puts a fry into his mouth, chewing carefully. “Unless they throw Alec into a room full of spiders. Then we might as well just give up and go home.”

Alec rolls his eyes. “Hey, it’s not even that bad, anymore. I could handle it.”

“Sure you could.”

“I’ve gotten used to them, okay?” Alec shoots back. Jace raises a sceptical eyebrow at him, and Alec scoffs. “Fine. More used to them. Point is, if you could get through the  _ Rip Ride Rockit _ , I can handle some creepy crawlers.”

“Are you sure you want to give away your secrets like this?” Aline cuts in, grinning. “Maybe Helen and I asked you to join up for dinner in order to learn and exploit your weaknesses for the race?”

Alec and Jace both freeze. Until Helen takes one look at their faces and bursts out laughing.

“Well, in that case, we should probably get some dirt on you as well,” Jace replies, recovering quickly. “Greatest fears? Snakes? Clowns? Pillows that are too fluffy?”

Aline makes a face that’s the very definition of ‘unimpressed’. “Pillows? That’s the best you could come up with?”

“Well, I did go with snakes first.”

“No, I think we’re good,” Helen says. “No fears, really.”

“Oh, come on. There’s got to be something,” Jace tries. “We told you ours, come on.”

“What’s this? Playing doctor in third grade?” Aline asks. “Hate to break it to you, but I really doubt you have anything to offer that we’d be interested in.”

“Speak for yourself,” Helen says with a wink. Then she flips her blonde hair over her shoulder and crosses her arms before leaning forward against the table. “So, Jace. Now that there’s no cameras around. All your secrets? Pretty please?”

Alec watches Jace’s eyes drop helplessly to her cleavage, and isn’t quite able to hide his amused snort behind the edge of his drink.

Aline meets his eyes, and the two of them share a look that just makes the way Jace can’t quite keep his eyes focused on Helen’s face as she keeps needling him all the funnier. Alec raises an eyebrow in question, tilting his head in Jace’s direction. Aline gives him a look that clearly says ‘oh please’ and steals a fry from Helen’s plate.

Helen swats after her hand on auto-pilot, then sighs and pushes her food a few inches to the right. Aline takes another fry, and the way their faces go soft and happy as they look at each other makes something clench in Alec’s chest.

Unbidden, memories of the night before rise in his mind. Not the heady, lust-filled parts, but the quiet moments after, when they curled up together before they started to drift off. Magnus put his head on Alec’s chest, his fingers idly playing with the hair there as he told more outrageous stories about his cat. Alec chuckles to himself, remembering the put out tone of Magnus’ voice—musings which are cut short when Jace pointedly clears his throat next to him.

Alec mentally shakes himself. Aline and Helen are looking at him with matching, curious expressions.

“So, how did you guys meet?” he asks Aline, taking a sip of water to try and combat the rising heat he can feel on the back of his neck.

Aline laughs. “Didn’t you watch our interview?”

“Yeah. But I want the real story.”

“Who says it isn’t?”

“You mean besides the fact that we’re on a reality show?”

Aline gives him a look like she’s grudgingly impressed, and then leans closer to Helen, putting her head on Helen’s shoulder.

“We met in the lunch line at ski camp when we were sixteen.”

“We don’t count that though,” Helen adds quickly. She leans forward towards Alec and Jace and whispers conspiratorially, “I looked horrible that time.”

“You looked hot,” Aline argues.

“No, I looked sweaty. You’re just really biased.”

“Sweaty can be hot,” Jace cuts in, his eyes suddenly glittering as he turns to Alec. “Isn’t that right, Alec?”

Alec gives him a withering look, which, of course, is a little too late, because Aline and Helen are already jumping on the opportunity, demanding to know more.

“Alec had a huge crush on one of the trainers at our gym,” Jace elaborates. “It would have been cute if it didn’t end up being so very embarrassing.”

“Ooh, let me guess,” Aline says. “He seemed interested, but he just wanted to sell you a really expensive VIP membership or something?”

“Oh, no, it was way worse than that,” Jace replies, happily ignoring the way Alec not-so-subtly elbows him in the ribs to make him shut up. “The guy was interested in getting some Lightwood, all right. Completely panting for it. Except… “

“Except what?” Helen asks excitedly.

“Except he wasn’t actually into me, he was in love with our sister,” Alec says.

“No!”

“Oh, yes,” Jace says, nodding solemnly. “Alec took him on five dates, and the guy didn’t even realise it.”

***

_ Dramatic music plays as aerial shots of white beaches and blue waves sweep across the screen. A montage of the race so far is cut in, showing close-ups of each contestant at critical moments. _

LUKE V.O.: The first leg of the race is nearing its close, as our contestants prepare for the final challenge: a mad race against the clock to capture the gold mask of the Incan king!

_ The music swells as the camera pans up a stone pillar, on top of which a very gaudy, and very shiny gold mask is resting, dramatically backlit. _

LUKE V.O.: On their way to this point, our contestants have faced dizzying heights—

_ Montage of people screaming while riding a massive roller coaster, a close-up on Clary, panicking at the gate of the ride, followed by one of Jace throwing up violently in a trashcan. _

LUKE V.O.: —before tracking across Florida, finding boats that would take them down the coast to the Everglades, where one of our contestants had to face their biggest fear!

_ Clip of Raphael standing in front of a port-a-potty, looking pale as death. _

LUKE V.O.: After making their way across the Gulf to Mexico, the contestants have finally made it to the ancient ruins of Tulum. Here, they will go head to head, as they’re tested on their agility, strength and intelligence. Who will cave under the pressure, and who will triumph—claiming the win for the first part of the race? Stay tuned to find out!

_ Music swells again, as the logo for the show appears on the screen in a massive ball of fire. _

***

Alec breathes in and out slowly, bouncing on the balls of his feet. The beach will be the main challenge—keeping momentum going up through the sand and up the hill towards the first checkpoint. Up ahead, Aline and Helen—first out of the gate with a headstart from the points gained in challenges so far—are struggling out of the shallows, still moving fast enough to make Alec worry.

The alarm sounds, and Lydia and John both drop into the water and start running. Alec exchanges a glance with Jace, and they both ready themselves to go. 

The alarm sounds again, and Alec’s focus narrows down to the path ahead. 

He’s vaguely aware of Jace running next to him, of Lydia and John, who are only steps ahead—of the sound of the host shouting happily in the background. As they reach the shore and make their way from hard-packed, wet sand into soft dunes, he sees John fall out of the corner of his eye, but he puts the competition out of his mind and only listens to his own breathing as he keeps running.

As he makes it across the crest of the final dune, six puzzles come into view, set up side by side, each a different colour. Helen and Aline are already at a red one in the middle, swearing quietly as they move the pieces around the board. 

“I know there’s a trick to it,” Aline is saying. “Hang on, let me—”

“You’ve already tried that!”

Alec gives the yellow puzzle he and Jace picked a once-over. It’s a sliding block puzzle. And it looks difficult as all hell. 

“Here,” Jace says, reaching out to move a piece. “I think we just have to get started.”

“Good plan,” Alec says sarcastically, although truth to be told, he doesn’t have any better ideas. 

“—not even like there ever were Incan settlements in this area,” he hears behind him, shortly thereafter. By now, he instantly recognises Ragnor’s petulant, dry tone. “And don’t get me  _ started _ on the eurocentric—” 

“Preaching to the choir,” Magnus replies. He is breathless from running through the water and sand. Alec very deliberately keeps his eyes straight ahead as Magnus and Ragnor take the spot next to him and Jace. He and Magnus haven’t had a moment to themselves since they left LA, and if Magnus’ shirt is soaked through and clinging to his body the way Alec can feel his own is after running through the surf, Alec will not be held responsible for his actions. 

Out of the corner of his eye, he can’t help noticing how quickly Magnus and Ragnor start to move pieces across the board, however—making worryingly rapid progress while still bickering non-stop. 

“Hang on, I think this piece is supposed to go over here,” Jace says, pulling Alec’s attention back to where it needs to be. He rotates three pieces, and Alec immediately sees what he’s going for; there’s an image taking shape in the centre of their board of a three-by-three grid, each square holding a different symbol.

“It’s a key, or a map or something,” Alec realises. “Quick, we need to get this piece down to here.”

“There, done!” Magnus’ voice rings out. “You memorise the columns, and I’ll do the rows?”

“Already have it,” Ragnor replies. “Onwards and upwards, then?”

They leave at a run. Alec glances over at their board, and, just like he expected, the image on it has nothing in common with the puzzle he and Jace are trying to solve. He grits his teeth and works faster.

“Clary, you’re a genius!” Simon cries, less than a minute later, and then the two of them are sprinting away from the beach as well. Camille and Raphael follow shortly after, and Alec feels his stress levels rise. Next to him, Jace has gone quiet, his focus fully on the task ahead.

“There,” he says, after sliding another few squares all around the board to get them to switch places. “I think that’s it?”

Alec takes in the image, his mind immediately launching itself into the task of remembering the sequence. When he’s sure he has it, he gives Jace a nod, and then they’re off, running away from the beach and towards the cliffs rising up ahead of them.

The sequence unlocks a box, which contains climbing equipment. They strap themselves in and move over to the base of the cliff, where show staff stand ready with safety wires. Alec does a quick scan of their competition, and notes, to his surprise, that Clary and Simon have overtaken Magnus and Ragnor, and, more importantly, are already almost at the top of the cliff. Camille and Raphael are behind them, but are moving steadily upward—also a lot faster than Alec would have guessed from what he’s seen of them so far. Aline and Helen, and Lydia and John, still haven’t arrived.

He finds a grip for his foot and starts pushing himself upwards. Jace moves ahead of him, his smaller, lighter frame allowing him more speed. Alec’s got longer reach, though, and while it’s been a few years since he last climbed, his body remembers how to do it. He finds another grip for his left foot, then a matching one for his right. He pushes upwards, keeping his upper body close to the stone as he reaches an overhang. Jace calls to him to hurry up, and Alec feels laughter surge up inside of him.

He almost forgot what a great feeling it is, being out in the open air, pushing his body towards its limits. The sun is hot on the back of his neck, but there’s enough of a breeze to temper the sensation. He finds another grip, and then another, moving with the coarse rock, steadily higher.

“Come on, Alec! We need to get to this mask sometime today!” Jace calls again, his voice carrying the same joy as Alec feels.

“Don’t worry, I’ll still beat you to the top!” he calls back, and then pushes himself a little harder.

He catches up with Jace only feet away from the top, and they climb over the edge together, matching grins on their faces. They collapse on the ground, side by side, both taking a moment to give their muscles a short reprieve.

“Come on, get up,” Jace tells him, extending a hand to Alec to pull them both to their feet. “Clary and Simon are way ahead; we need to hurry if we’re going to catch up with them.”

“Only Clary and Simon?”

“Yeah, we managed to overtake the others on the way up. Aline and Helen were coming up behind us really fast, though, so we need to move sooner rather than later.”

Ahead, their path is blocked by a high wall, slanting slightly inwards but entirely smooth and without any visible handholds. Clary and Simon are both attempting to scale it by what appears to be sheer force of will, doing just as well as can be expected. 

Alec exchanges a glance with Jace. 

“Like being back in training,” Jace says, grinning, then readies himself. “I’ll go first?”

“Go,” Alec agrees, and Jace launches himself forward, accelerating towards the wall and letting the momentum of his run propel him up two-thirds of the way. He just manages to catch the upper edge of the wall with the tips of his fingers, and heaves himself up the final distance, swinging his legs up and over with insolent ease. 

“Oh come  _ on _ !” Simon exclaims, throwing his hands into the air. “It’s not fair to compete against people who can  _ fly _ !”

Alec laughs, then breathes in and backs up a few paces. The wall is high, but nothing compared to some of the drills they used to be put through at their last base. 

He allows himself to glance at Simon and Clary before starting for the wall. In what seems to be a new tactic, Clary is now climbing onto Simon’s shoulders. 

He leaves them to it and runs after Jace. The feeling of running vertically is just as strange as he remembers, but he manages to move into it enough for his momentum to get him close enough to the edge that he, too, can grab onto it and pull himself over. He lands on the other side, slightly out of breath, and finds Jace waiting for him with a big grin on his face.

They high five before moving forward, and Alec notes at least three cameras creeping closer to get a good shot. Right now, however, there could be a thousand cameras—he’s too hopped up on adrenaline to care, and when Jace lets out another laugh and leads the way towards a dangerously narrow bridge, Alec follows.

The path ahead goes through an obstacle course. Nothing poses much of a problem to the two of them until they get to a combination of platforms that move around and have to be trod on at the exactly right moment. Jace falls off first, and has to start over. Alec doesn’t fare much better, and they’re on their third try when they hear footsteps approaching, rapidly making their way far too close for comfort.

“Hi, guys!” Helen calls out, as she perfectly times the collision between the first and second platform. “Having fun?”

“I am, actually,” Alec says, watching the fourth platform swing towards him once more. 

“I think this is the best part yet,” Helen says, jumping lightly forward to come level with him. “Reminds me of trying to navigate this swamp near my aunt’s house.” She leans to one side, then the other, then jumps quickly onto the next segment. For a moment, Alec is gleefully sure that she’s mistimed it, but she lands as though it’s the easiest thing in the world. “Although there are fewer alligators here, of course,” she adds, turning to grin casually at him. 

“This is some sort of intimidation tactic you’re trying, huh,” Alec says, trying to focus on the platforms’ pattern. 

“Is it working?” she asks with another grin, then turns and leaps forward. 

He snorts and readies himself, jumping onto the fourth segment, biting back a victorious grin as he lands steadily. Helen inadvertently showed him the trick—waiting for the right moment means you’ll always be late. 

He doesn’t come near to matching her pace, of course, but he manages to complete the rest of the path and jumps down with triumph. Behind him, Jace and Aline are both struggling. In front, Helen is running on ahead of her partner, sprinting towards the temple ruins.

After a moment’s hesitation, Alec lets her go, focusing instead of taking stock of the situation. From what he can tell, they’re on the final lap towards the finish. Jace and Aline are neck and neck, balancing precariously on one platform each, arms waving as they try to keep their footing. Behind them, Clary and Simon are heading into the course, too, and Magnus and Ragnor are just coming into view from the previous part.

“Go!” Jace shouts, waving frantically. “Clear the path; I’ll catch up!”

Alec goes. 

The final lap is a long, exhausting path of steps that leads up the ruins. He takes them two at a time, relishing in the feeling of just letting his body do the work. As he makes it up to the final ledge and skids into the main hall, he sees Helen waiting next to an impossibly tacky gold mask. 

“You made it!” she says, grinning at him. 

“Eventually,” he says, nodding at her. “Congrats!”

“I still need Aline to get here to win,” she says, gesturing to the pillar holding the mask, where two handprints are painted. “But she says she can’t concentrate when I’m watching her, so I thought I might as well go ahead. How’s Jace doing, by the way? Seems you got most of the sense of balance from the gene pool?”

“Well, we’re not related by blood, so I’d think there’s enough genetic talent to go around,” Alec replies. “Speaking of, you should meet our sister.”

“Uh-uh, trying to tempt me will get you nowhere,” Helen says, smiling. Together, they head back out to the ledge, where they can see everything going on below. Jace and Aline are still struggling to make it through the moving platforms, both of them now sporting extremely grim looks on their faces.

“Come on, Aline!” Helen shouts. “Just kick Jace off the platform and get up here, already!”

“Come on, Jace, focus!” Alec shouts in reply, excitement shooting upward when Jace manages to clear not one, but two consecutive jumps between platforms. “You can do it!”

It seems like some kind of higher power hears him, because Jace manages to keep his footing through the next number of jumps. He hits the ground, sweaty and shaking but still managing to look far too pleased with himself. 

He then looks back at Aline, who misses the last jump and has to start over yet again, then up at Alec and Helen, giving them a thumbs up before setting off at a very casual jog towards the steps. 

Alec rolls his eyes and takes a seat on the ground, figuring he might as well be comfortable while he waits.

“Oh my God, how are they doing that?” Helen exclaims.

Alec launches himself back to his feet and hurries over to her. He scans the scene below, eyes widening as he sees Magnus and Ragnor literally propel themselves through the platform course, holding on to each other’s hands and using gravity and their combined momentum to manipulate the way the platforms move.

Alec stares, slack-jawed, at the performance. The Mexican sun suddenly feels a lot hotter than it did, and Alec shifts restlessly on his feet, reminding himself that there’s a camera just feet away.

He can’t stop staring, though. The way Magnus moves screams of power, of near-perfect body control, and Alec can’t help the way his mind immediately translates that power to scenarios involving the two of them and a bed. Or a wall—any kind of surface, really. He shuts his eyes and swallows hard, trying to will the image of Magnus pushing him back and sinking down on top of him from his mind. 

“Wait, what is she—” Helen starts to say, and then lets out a yelp that has Alec’s focus immediately snap back to the situation at hand.

Down below, he sees Ragnor hit the mats beneath the second-to-last platform, Magnus tumbling down closely behind him.

“She pushed him!” Helen exclaims angrily, as Camille and Raphael clear the last platform and run towards the steps. Towards Jace, who’s still only half way up the path.

“Jace, run!” Alec shouts, gesturing wildly towards the people coming up behind him. Jace turns his head, sees the threat, and runs.

Alec watches with bated breath. Camille and Raphael are  _ fast _ , looking more like they’re flying up the stone steps than climbing them. Still, Jace has a head start, and he’s giving his all now, taking the steps two at a time as he races towards Alec.

He reaches the ledge still in the lead, and he and Alec run for the main hall. Jace gets to the pillar first, and slams his palm against the impression in the stone. Alec mirrors him, touching the print right as he hears two sets of footsteps enter the hall. The glass dome protecting the gold mask moves out of the way, leaving Jace and Alec free to take it off its pedestal and raise it high into the air. Camille’s shriek of disappointment sounds like music to Alec’s ears.

“And the winners of race one are Jace and Alec!” Luke’s voice echoes through the space. “Well done! After taking a moment to celebrate, please make your way back to the beach; there’s a boat waiting to take you to your next location.”

***

_ Rock music plays while close-ups of the contestants flash across the screen. _

LUKE V.O: After braving dizzying heights, long boat rides and an obstacle course tough enough to make the most dedicated athlete throw in the towel, our teams have made it to the first finish line! Next, they’ll be brought to a tropical resort, where they’ll get a chance to recuperate before the race begins again.  _ Or will they? _ Stay tuned to find out! Fridays at 8pm, 7 central. Adventure XXL—the adventure HOTTER than hell!


	4. Welcome To Paradise, part I

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _The hotel they’re brought to after finishing the first race is shockingly nice. It’s built on a ledge overlooking the ocean, with steps going down to a private beach, several swimming pools and at least three hot tubs._

The hotel they’re brought to after finishing the first race is shockingly nice. It’s built on a ledge overlooking the ocean, with steps going down to a private beach, several swimming pools and at least three hot tubs. They’re shown to their rooms and given some time to freshen up before dinner, and Alec immediately heads for the shower, longing to get rid of the sweat, salt, sand and general grime from the day’s competition.

He’s stripped down to his underwear, and is just about to get rid of those as well, when he sees it: a small black camera mounted right below the ceiling, its red light blinking. He quickly grabs a towel and wraps it around himself, leaving the bathroom.

“Hey, I thought you were claiming first shower?” Jace asks, looking up from where he’s lying starfished on the truly opulent king size bed that’s dominating the room. “Did you change your mind, because if so, I’ll just—”

Alec holds up a hand to quiet him. Jace’s face quickly turns serious. He moves off the bed, automatically going for his usual position at Alec’s six.

“What’s happening?”

“I’m not sure,” Alec answers. He starts his search in the far corner of the room, then methodically works his way back towards the entrance to the bathroom.

“There,” he says, pointing out a small, blinking object to Jace. “And there. I think there’s one in the flowerpot over there as well.”

“Why would there be cameras here? In our rooms?”

“I don’t know. But these three likely cover this whole room, and there’s one in the bathroom as well.”

“That’s fucked up,” Jace says. “I know there was a lot of fine print in the contracts we signed, but are they really allowed to do that?.”

“No, they’re not. The contracts specifically said they can only film us during active competition. So unless sleeping and brushing your teeth is suddenly part of our—” Alec breaks off, a terrible thought hitting him. “Shit.”

“Shit as in you just realised there was more fine print, or shit, you suspect the game has changed?” Jace asks.

“Look around. Why would they put us up in a place like this just to rest up?”

Jace swears under his breath. “So we’ve landed in some kind of tropical Big Brother?”

“I’m guessing they’ll cut most of the footage?” Alec tries. “Unless people sleeping makes for a lot better TV than you’d think.”

“I wouldn’t bet on it,” Jace grumbles. “What about the toilet?”

Alec moves over to the small niche next to the bathroom and runs a quick sweep. “Nothing in here, but the door’s just frosted glass, so the cameras out in the main room are probably able to pick up general movement.”

“You think there’s audio as well?”

Alec winces. “Doesn’t make sense for there not to be.”

“So what do we do?”

“I don’t know, shower in our underwear, I guess?”

They stand looking at each other, letting the reality of their situation sink in.

“Right, well, I’m going to take that shower,” Alec says, eventually. “And then we’ll go see about finding something to eat.”

“You know, I just thought of a silver lining to this whole camera thing,” Jace replies, perking up. “You won’t be able to sexile me again for as long as we’re staying here.”

Alec feels his face fall. Well, fuck. There goes that plan. Not that there  _ was _ a plan, really, just— 

Damn it.

Whatever goodwill towards the competition that the last task managed to build quickly evaporates, leaving him irritated and on edge once more.

“Same goes for you,” he shoots back. “I’m betting you’ll be a lot more cranky about it.”

Jace laughs. “For the record, I’m totally taking that bet.”

***

_ Poppy, latino-influenced music plays as sweeping shots of a luxury hotel, white beaches and blue skies play across the screen. A shimmering butterfly flies past, fading in glamour shots of the contestants, cut in with slow pans up and down their bodies from carefully chosen clips from the previous challenges. _

LUKE V.O.: Our last challenge tried the contestants intelligence, strength and athleticism in scenarios they had trained and prepared for. Now, it’s time to see how they fare when taken out of their comfort zone and faced with the unexpected. Who will stay loyal, and who will take the chance of more than doubling the coveted prize? Find out soon! This—is Adventure XXL!

***

“Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to paradise!”

Alec looks up from the plate of food balanced precariously on his lap. The show’s host, Luke, is standing in front of them, barefoot and dressed only in a pair of loose, white linen pants. His chest and abs look like they were cut out of marble, and Alec’s at least ninety percent sure that some kind of lotion or oil has been rubbed into his skin to make it look like it’s glistening. He grabs his drink from the side table next to his lounge chair and drains what’s left of it, taking refuge in the sweet coolness as the liquid runs down his throat. 

A fresh drink arrives before he’s put the empty glass down. Alec frowns, then nods his thanks to the anonymous server melting away into the background.

“This resort is equipped to cater to your every whim, your… every fantasy,” Luke continues, his voice dropping from its already deep tones to a register that is positively indecent. “You’ll all get time to get to know each other better, and to kick-start that process, you will all be given new roommates for the stay! Ladies, if you’ll follow me over here, please?”

Confused murmurs fill the space as they’re all ushered up a level to a grand patio, lined with burning torches on both sides. Alec is guided onto a bar stool, and there’s a moment of high activity as the camera crew set up their equipment, and the makeup people hurry back and forth, arranging everyone’s hair to a perfectly tousled look and touching up people’s makeup.

“Come on, I really don’t need any more of that stuff,” Alec hears Luke protest, as one of the makeup people starts attacking him with some sort of body spray. The suave smile has fallen off his face, and from where Alec is standing, he mostly just looks tired. Tired, and annoyed.

“Herondale’s orders,” the makeup artist replies, also tiredly, as though she’s used to having the same discussion. “You know what your contract says, Luke. Now flex for me so I can do a touch up on the shading.”

“What do you think is going on?” Jace asks quietly from the seat next to Alec’s.

“No idea, but I doubt we’ll like it.”

“Everyone into positions!” a girl with a clipboard in her hands calls out. “Filming starts back up in five!”

***

_ The same music plays as before, building up to a dramatic crescendo as the camera sweeps over the resort at night, then starts zooming in on a torch-lit patio. One one side, the male contestants are lined up, on the other, the female. The camera pans over each of their faces before settling on LUKE, who’s standing in the centre, holding a golden chest. _

LUKE: For the next challenge, our contestants will each choose a new partner. In this chest—

_ He opens the chest dramatically, allowing a puff of golden smoke to escape. _

LUKE: —are one bracelet for each of our lovely women. They will choose their new partner wisely, and place the bracelet around his wrist. If two or more women choose the same man, the man gets to pick which bracelet to accept.

The camera zooms in everyone’s faces as the contestants receive the news. Then pans back to LUKE, whose face grows pained and serious.

LUKE: Sadly, one of our contestants suffered an injury during the last challenge, and had to exit the competition—

_ Footage plays of LYDIA and JOHN running on the beach in the Mexican temple challenge. JOHN’s ankle twists, and he falls—in slow-motion—and crashes dramatically to the ground. There’s a frenzy of activity as the medics get him onto a stretcher, overlaid with a close-up of LYDIA’s worried face. Flashing blue lights of emergency vehicles and sirens accompany footage of a helicopter taking off. _

LUKE: —but in a way, this is good news for the other men in the competition! One less rival to battle for the attention of our lovely ladies!”

_ Drums begin to play menacingly. More close-ups on the contestants’ faces. _

LUKE: The man who finds himself without a partner tonight, will have exactly one week to sway the loyalties of one of the girls and persuade her to room with him instead, in order to stay in the race. At the next fire ceremony— 

_ Dramatic pause, music swells, drums accelerate and then stop, leaving a lone violin playing softly in the background. _

LUKE: —one, or more, of our contestants will be going home. 

*** 

“What side of the bed do you want?”

Alec winces, then runs a hand nervously through his hair. “I’ll just take the couch.”

Aline sends the tiny loveseat by the wall a sceptical look and then turns back to Alec. “Not even half your body would fit on that thing. Come on, pick a side. It’s not a big deal.”

“I—um. I’m not—”

“I know,” Aline says. She takes a deep breath and walks up to Alec’s side, looking nervously in the direction of the closest camera before putting a hand on Alec’s shoulder and angling them away from it, leaning in to speak quietly directly into his ear. “I picked you for two reasons. One, because you’re a nice guy from what I’ve seen so far, but mostly because I figured you’d be the one person here as uncomfortable with the idea of playing house as me.”

Alec lets out a breath he didn’t realise he was holding. “Yeah, you’ve got that right.”

“Come on, let’s get into bed,” Aline says. “The covers should block our voices enough so that we can talk about this.”

Alec nods. They take turns brushing their teeth and then climb under the covers, snickering together as they pull them up over their heads.

“This is like camp all over again,” Aline laughs, and then her face grows serious. “So, how do you want to play this?”

“I  _ don’t _ ,” Alec replies with a sigh, surprising both of them with the level of bitterness that seeps into his voice. “Sorry. It’s not about you. It’s just—I pretended to date a friend in High School, before I was ready to come out to my parents. And I thought we were on the same page, but it turned out we weren’t, and it became this  _ huge _ mess. I don’t really—since joining the military, discretion has kind of been a big priority. I mean, I’m out to anyone that matters, and I do date sometimes, but I also—like to keep things private, you know?”

“God, do I ever,” Aline replies with a sigh of her own. “You should hear my manager when she gets going. Image this, sponsorships that. Being a professional athlete and having to play a role to make sure you can live off of it can really fuck with your head.”

Alec frowns. “But you and Helen feel like you’ve been together forever?”

“Three years solid. Eight if you count all the times we were on-again/off-again. It hasn’t exactly been an easy road.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be,” Aline replies. “We’ve been in a really good place for the last couple of years. It’s—actually one of the reasons we signed up for this. If we win that prize money, we’re, um.” She breaks off, and even in the darkness, Alec can see the smile that spreads across her face.

“We’re going to try and have a baby,” Aline confesses.

“That’s huge. Congratulations.”

“Thanks. I mean, it’s just a plan, so far. But it would be… really great, I think.”

On instinct, Alec reaches out and grabs her hand, gives it a quick squeeze before letting go again. “I’m sure you’ll be a great mom.”

“I hope so,” Aline replies. “But that’s for when we get out of here. What do we do for the next however long we’re staying here? I’ll be really surprised if whatever challenges they throw at us aren’t designed to make us look like we’re at least hooking up.”

Alec stomach sinks. Part of him wants him to get up, say ‘fuck it’ to the whole thing and just get out. Unfortunately, the other part of him did a pretty thorough read of his contract before signing it, and knows that he’d be paying off the punitive damages until he’s near retirement. Besides, he promised Jace that he’d try to help him win, so that Jace can get that one step closer to  _ his _ dream. He rolls over on his back and puts his hands over his face. The heat beneath the blankets covering them is making it progressively harder to think.

“I don’t know. Does it even matter what we do?” he replies, after a long moment of silence. “I mean, I’ve seen shows like  _ Big Brother _ and  _ The Bachelor _ . They’re just going to cut the footage together to tell the story they want, anyway, right?”

“Probably, but that doesn’t mean we have to make it easier for them,” Aline replies. “Also—and don’t answer this if you don’t want to talk about it—but I kind of got the feeling that something’s going on between you and Magnus?”

Alec sighs. “I like him a lot,” he admits. “But the stakes got really high, really fast today.”

“Yeah, I totally get that,” Aline replies. “Sleep on it?”

Alec nods and pushes the covers back, closing his eyes resolutely against the small red light of the nearest camera.

***

_ MEXICAN RESORT CONFESSION BOX—MORNING AFTER PARTNER SWITCH. _

_ INTERVIEWER _ : So Simon, tell us, things seemed to be heating up between you and Camille after the ceremony last night. Are you getting along well?

_ SIMON, ruffled and a bit embarrassed: _ Yeah, um—I think we might have partied a little too hard. I’m not totally sure how it all happened, if I’m completely honest.

_ INTERVIEWER _ : Well you certainly seemed to be enjoying that lapdance.

_ SIMON, eyes growing wide with sudden panic: _ Lapdance? There was a—oh God. Did it get filmed? My bubbie Helen will be watching this show!

_ INTERVIEWER, breezily _ : No need to be embarrassed; these things happen!  _ Now _ , what about what happened between your old partner Clary and her new partner, Jace? Let’s get the best friend perspective—is love in the air, do you think?

_ SIMON, pales: _ What happened with Clary and Jace?

_ INTERVIEWER _ : You don’t remember? They made  _ quite a splash _ going for that midnight dip in the hottub together.

_ SIMON _ : Just swimming, or…?

_ INTERVIEWER _ : That’s what we’re hoping to get your input on. Let’s review the tape! 

***

“Welcome to the sand sculpture challenge!” Luke greets them, as they all line up on the beach on the third day of the stay at the hotel. “You have one hour to build the best piece of sand art you can. The twist? One of you have to have their body be part of the design.” He pulls away a sheet held up by two assistants, to reveal a third—very blonde and very busty—lying on her side on the beach, her lower body hidden by a sculpture of a mermaid’s tail.

“Give Meredith a hand!” Luke calls out, as the blonde tosses her hair back and aims sultry looks at all of them. “Everyone to their stations! Three-two-one-go!”

A bell rings. Alec follows Aline as she sprints down the beach, heading for where their names have been drawn together into a heart in the sand.

“Come on, let’s win this,” she says, grabbing the shovels planted in the ground and throwing one to him. “It’ll be easier to build if we have wet sand to work with.”

“Where do you want it?”

“Just pile it over there,” Aline replies, just as Helen runs past, grabbing a big bucket from the station next to theirs and running towards the water.

“Magnus, start digging yourself into a hole!” she calls over her shoulder. “I’ll be right back!”

“Aye-aye, captain!” Magnus calls back after her, grinning to himself as he grabs a shovel and turns around.

Toward Alec.

Alec doesn’t mean to stare, he truly doesn’t. But the swim shorts Magnus is wearing makes it impossible not to. The shorts are red, for one. And so,  _ so _ short. And tight enough that Alec can make out the curve of Magnus’ ass perfectly though the thin fabric. He’s suddenly exceptionally grateful that he resisted the tight shorts the wardrobe people wanted to put him in and opted for the loose-fitting surfer shorts he’s currently wearing.

“Sorry for trivialising your rank,” Magnus says, turning his grin on Alec. “Captain,” he adds with a nod and a raised eyebrow that does nothing to slow down Alec’s pulse.

“Um. That’s, uh—” he tries, ducking his head when Magnus’ smile widens.

“Alec, come on, less talking, more digging!” Aline cuts in. Then she tilts her head and looks between him and Magnus, the corner of her lips curving upwards.

“How would you and Helen feel about joining us for a double sculpture?” she asks Magnus. “I have a great idea for what we could do.”

“I’m game if you are,” Magnus answers. “Alexander?”

Alec guiltily snaps his eyes back up to meet Magnus’. “What?”

“Oh, Alec’s definitely game,” Aline says. She takes her shovel and draws out two curved shapes in the sand. “There, start piling sand inside those lines until it turns into two seats.”

“Ooh, are we doing a double sculpture?” Helen asks, coming up behind them with a bucket full of water. “Awesome.”

“Yeah, I was thinking—” Aline leans in close, whispering the rest of the sentence into Helen’s ear. By the wide grin spreading on Helen’s face, Alec guesses she likes what she hears.

“Okay, so we’ll need a whole lot of wet sand for this,” Aline says, turning everyone’s attention back to their task. “Alec and Magnus, you dig. I’m going to go with Helen to fetch more water.”

“Enjoy the view,” Magnus calls after her, innocently. Alec bites down on his bottom lip to keep himself from laughing.

They work together, side by side, digging and piling the sand onto the shapes Aline drew for them, and while Alec keeps getting distracted by the sheer beauty that is Magnus’ nearly naked body at regular intervals, he’s also starting to relax and just enjoy the activity.

“Okay, I think that’s good enough,” Aline says. “Sit down on top of this end and this end here, facing each other.”

“Like this?”

“A little closer. Put your hands on each other’s shoulders. Good, yes, that’ll work.”

“Are you going to tell us about the motif? Or do we just sit here and look pretty?”

“In your dreams, Bane; there’s a lot more work to be done,” Helen says happily. “Hang on, let me just sketch out this part. Hold perfectly still, please.”

“What do you think they’re turning us into?” Magnus asks quietly. His hands are warm against Alec’s skin, the tips of his fingers stroking the smallest of circles against Alec’s collarbone on the side that’s hidden from the cameras.

“No idea,” Alec replies. He carefully looks around, noting that most of the camera crew seem to be over at Camille and Simon’s station. He’s tried to keep some distance between himself and Magnus for the past couple of days, all too aware of the constant camera presence and the way the hotel staff keeps popping up to serve them more alcohol at all hours of the day. “Um. How’s sharing a room with Helen going?”

“It’s lots of fun, actually,” Magnus says. “We stayed up until 3 AM last night, doing outrageous things to each other’s hair and trying every item on the room service menu. Did you know you can get fresh oysters on a giant, heart-shaped platter here?”

Alec feels the corners of his lips twitch. From the way his own burger and fries came presented with flower petals and a single red rose sticking up from the top of the bun, he can perfectly imagine what that would look like. “Was it super over the top?”

“Came with  _ two _ bottles of cheap champagne and a complimentary packet of condoms,” Magnus confirms. “I think the note said they were raspberry-flavoured.”

“Wow, they really want us to have sex on camera, don’t they?” Alec says, noticing a bit too late that his own fingers have migrated to the nape of Magnus’ neck.

Magnus leans into the touch, and Alec notices how he, too, does a quick scan of their surroundings. “Privacy’s definitely lacking.”

He lets his hand move back up to Alec’s shoulder, strong fingers digging into the muscle there. “You’re tense.”

Alec groans quietly, vivid images of all the ways Magnus could help relieve said tension immediately accosting his mind.

“I might have an idea, actually,” Magnus continues, a sly smile spreading on his lips. “How do you feel about some subterfuge?”

“Right now? A lot better than I probably should,” Alec returns, then bites back another groan. “Jesus, Magnus, we’re in public. There’s cameras everywhere.”

“They’re busy filming the Simon-Camille-Clary-Jace drama,” Magnus says, tilting his head closer so that their foreheads nearly touch. “No one’s watching little old us.”

“Someone’s always watching,” Alec replies with a sigh. “Aline, will we be allowed to move again anytime soon?”

“Yup, go ahead; we have all the markers done,” Aline replies. “Time to get out and start digging some more. We need these piles to be at least as tall as me before we start carving out the shapes.”

“And we only have forty-five minutes left to do it,” Helen chimes in. She hands a shovel to Magnus and then waves one of the hotel staff over, grabbing two drinks from his platter and giving one to Aline. “Chop, chop, boys.”

***

“He’s quite the catch, isn’t he?” Camille says, startling Alec as she slips into the seat next to him, cocktail in hand. She tilts her head meaningfully towards the pool, where Magnus is swimming, his arms cutting through the water in even, powerful strokes.

Alec keeps his face neutral. “Who?”

“Oh, relax,” Camille laughs, giving his arm a playful little swat. “Your secret’s safe with me, you know. I mean, it’s not like I’m going to go into the confession box and tell everyone that I saw the two of you sneak off alone down to the beach this morning.” She swats his arm again, laughing as though the mere idea is ridiculous.

Alec’s stomach sinks. He thought they’d been really careful; clearly, that wasn’t careful enough.

“I care about Magnus a lot, you know,” Camille continues, bottom lip turning out in a pout when Alec doesn’t speak. “I mean, after everything he’s been through—the sacrifices he made just to be here…” She trails off, sighing.

The words add to the uneasy feeling in Alec’s gut. He almost calls her out on them, before he manages to stop himself. This is what Camille’s been doing all week, he reminds himself—she manipulates little bits of information out of the rest of them and then spins them until they look nothing like the truth. 

Also, he’s never responded well to being threatened. Even less so when the threat involves people that he cares about. Since she clearly wants a reaction, he simply stands up, ignoring the way he can feel her eyes drilling into his back, and walks away from the patio.

***

_ Sultry, saxophone-heavy music plays as clips of the first week at the resort fade in and out, accompanied by bursts of golden sparks. CAMILLE is heavily featured: hips swaying as she walks on the beach in a blood-red bikini; grainy shots of her and a very drunk Simon, laughing and bumping into things as they stumble through their bedroom in the dark; playfully leaning across the breakfast table and offering Magnus a strawberry with a wicked smile; sliding a hand around Jace’s waist to adjust his position during morning yoga. Clips of the other women, looking worried and/or jealous complete the narrative, CLARY shown front and centre as she and CAMILLE come head to head in a vicious game of water polo.  _

LUKE V.O.: As the first week reaches its end, the tension is mounting, as old friends become rivals—

_ Cut to a clip of ALEC and JACE by the bar, both laughing at something ALINE just said. _

LUKE V.O.: —and new connections are made... and old loyalties are tested.

_ Extreme close-up of RAGNOR’s hand grasping LYDIA’s as he helps her climb off a jetski, which pans out to a full-body shot of LYDIA in a swimsuit; CAMILLE and RAPHAEL seen through thick foliage, the dramatic music overlaying the clip suggesting they’re in the middle of a fight; close-up of SIMON’s stricken face as JACE picks CLARY up in a bridal carry, cannonballing both of them into the pool. _

LUKE V.O.: In the first couples’ challenge, the teams produced sand sculptures, with varying results— 

_ Picture collage: LYDIA as a pharaoh; SIMON as an octopus; ALEC and MAGNUS as battling centaurs (partly-collapsed from ALINE and HELEN trying to sit on the centaurs’ backs); RAPHAEL standing on his own, by one side, giving everyone else long-suffering looks. _

LUKE V.O.: —in which Clary and Jace came out on top—

_ A picture of JACE, incorporated into a gorgeous sand statue of an angel, slides in from the side. _

LUKE V.O.: —and were sent off for a night of first-class dining, followed by couple’s massages and a night in the honeymoon suite!

_ Suggestive shot of a balcony from a distance, showing JACE and CLARY having dinner on their own, by candlelight. _

_ Music swells, more golden sparks fly across the screen. _

LUKE V.O: Next up: week one comes to an end, and it’s time for everyone to make a choice. Who will stay, and who will get sent home? Find out next time, on Adventure XXL—the Adventure HOTTER than Hell! 


	5. Welcome To Pradise, part II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _“Welcome back to Adventure XXL—the Adventure HOTTER than Hell!” Luke says, smoothly slipping back into his smouldering stage persona. Whatever the make-up people did to his abs, they deserve a raise, Alec thinks dazedly, before he realises that he’s staring and manages to get a grip on himself._

The second time they’re all ushered up to the firelit patio is even more chaotic than the first. Before even getting there, they have to go through wardrobe, hair and makeup—with the result that eleven people who supposedly packed for weeks of backpacking around the world are all wearing impeccable suits and fancy evening gowns. Luke is in the middle of it all again, arguing with someone over the phone, while three different people are rubbing his abs down with oil and going over his skin with massive powder brushes.

“No, I will not be put on hold again,” Alec hears Luke say, sounding pissed off. “You tell Imogen that she can take that facelift and shove it up her—yeah, I  _do_ know what my contract says, thank you very much. Having surgery just because some twenty-year-old in PR thought they saw a wrinkle is not in it.”

“Sorry, Alec, I need to touch up your mascara again,” Lindsey from makeup says next to him. “Aldertree needs your eyes to pop more on camera.”

Alec groans, but obediently tilts his head back a little, looking up towards the sky and then closing his eyes again when she tells him to.

“So, are you nervous about tonight?” Lindsey asks, putting away her mascara and taking out a small tube containing something that apparently is to go on his cheekbones. “Elimination night and everything.”

Alec quickly glances over to where Jace is sitting a couple of seats down, and thinks back on the last couple of days. It hasn’t been easy, strategising without getting caught on camera, but if everything goes the way they planned…

“I feel fine,” he tells Lindsey, pursing his lips obediently as she swipes over them with one of her brushes.

“Jace really knows how to put on the charm, doesn’t he?” Lindsey continues, and when Alec looks up, he notes a slight blush in her cheeks. “I know I shouldn’t ask you this, but—is he seeing anyone? You know, back home?”

Before Alec is obligated to answer, one of the people with clipboards call out that filming will start in a couple of minutes. Alec sends Lindsey an apologetic look as she makes a last swipe with her brush (across his nose, of all places) and then hurries away from the patio.

The light people move in, adjusting their screens and spotlights. Then the sound people, making sure everyone’s mic is working like it should. Lastly, Aldertree steps up on the patio, declares everything to be ready and then melts back into the background again with a smug little smile on his lips.

That smile, more than anything else, makes Alec worry about what’s coming next.

“And… roll camera!”

“Welcome back to Adventure XXL—the Adventure HOTTER than Hell!” Luke says, smoothly slipping back into his smouldering stage persona. Whatever the make-up people did to his abs, they deserve a raise, Alec thinks dazedly, before he realises that he’s staring and manages to get a grip on himself.

“During the last fire ceremony, Raphael was tragically left without a partner,” Luke continues. “Now the question is, has he managed to win the heart of one of our lovely female contestants during the week, or will his journey end here—in paradise?”

A dramatic drum roll sounds, and Luke turns towards them.

“Men, you have each been given a necklace. When I call your name—randomly picked from this beautiful sea shell—you will walk over to the woman you want for your partner and put the necklace around her neck.”

He pauses—likely to give the camera crew time to get their close-ups of everyone. Alec looks over at Aline, who gives him a small nod, then at Helen, who smiles and winks. He wants to look over at Jace again, just to re-confirm that they’re all on the same page, but the camera creeping in close makes him hesitate. He looks the other way, instead, and finds Magnus, three seats down. Magnus has clearly seen his exchange with Helen and Aline, because he raises an eyebrow in question.

Alec feels the back of his neck grow hot. He meets Magnus’ eyes for a moment and immediately realises his mistake. In the past few days, he’s learned that Magnus is amazingly creative, finding every blind spot on set, figuring out every potential lapse in coverage when the camera crew take their breaks. Alec feels like he’s in college again, sneaking around to find a quiet corner to steal a breathtaking kiss from the boy he can’t stop thinking about.

It’s been a rush like nothing else. Despite their best efforts, however, they haven’t managed more than a couple of minutes of privacy at a time. Alec is pretty sure he’s more than half-way to dying from blue balls at this point—every time he and Magnus look at each other, he’s reminded of just where they left things off, the last time they were rudely interrupted.

He clears his throat and forces himself to look away. Back at Luke. Mind on the competition.

“But here’s the twist!” Luke exclaims, and Alec frowns, suddenly worried that he’s missed some vital detail of the next part of the game. “If you decide to pick a new partner, your potential prize—should you win the competition—goes from 250 000 dollars to a staggering  _half a million dollars_. But! If you choose to stay loyal to the partner you have, you will both win  _twenty-five thousand dollars_ , right here, tonight.”

He grins around at all of them, although now that Alec’s heard the annoyed calls to whatever manager is pulling his strings, he thinks he can start to spot where Luke’s smile cracks at the edges.

He feels his heart pick up its pace, adrenaline surging through his blood. This twist of the game changes their plans—he and Jace and Aline and Helen all need the money, and the prize going up to half a million dollars means they could all, technically, get what they want…

He loses himself in thought, pitching different scenarios against each other in his head, so much so that he almost misses his name being called.

“Alec, you’re first up,” Luke repeats. “Make your choice.”

Alec inwardly breathes a sigh of relief. The twist in the game threw him for a loop, but the plan the four of them have put together will still work. It would have worked no matter the order their names were picked, of course, but getting to go first makes it less nerve-wrecking. He takes the necklace he’s been given and walks across the patio, giving Aline a small nod before going to stand next to Helen.

“Our first contestant chooses to double his prize!” Luke calls out. Cameras swoop in, catching the reactions of everyone, and then Aldertree calls cut, as Aline is rushed off to a makeshift confession box at the end of the patio.

The next few choices happen in much the same way. Ragnor goes second, and opts to stay with Lydia. Simon goes next, and practically sprints over to Clary. Then Jace, who saunters up to Aline with a charming smile.

“Raphael, you’re up next,” Luke says. “Let’s see if you have managed to win one of these lovely ladies over.”

Alec feels a sudden chill as he realises that, if Raphael does what Alec suspects he will and goes back to Camille, that will mean all the girls have been chosen, and leave Magnus to go head to head with one of the rest of them to try and stay in the game. Him choosing Lydia is out, since that would put him up against Ragnor; Clary—despite how annoying Alec might find her—has shown herself to be fiercely loyal where Simon’s concerned, putting the chance of her throwing him under the bus for Magnus at a conservatively estimated zero percent.

And with both of them out of consideration, that leaves—Aline, Helen and Camille. And while Camille would, no doubt, drop Rapahel in a heartbeat if it would benefit her, choosing her is a bit like playing russian roulette. Which, in turn, means that the most likely scenario is that it will  come down to Alec, Jace and Magnus to vye for the final two male spots in the game. However that turns out, Alec is pretty sure he won’t like the outcome.

“Oooh!” Luke shouts, and Alec realises that to his and, obviously,  _everyone else’s_ surprise, Raphael has just walked up and placed his necklace around Clary’s neck.

“But,” Clary says, and Alec sees the camera technicians gesturing wildly, swinging around to capture the look of sweet, innocent surprise on her face—really, that girl must be too good to be true for the producers of this competition, “we haven’t even talked.”

“That’s what I like best about you,” Raphael replies airily.

There’s a brief pause, as camera technicians rush around changing angles and Clary’s led away for a spell in the confession box. As everyone else seems busy, Alec looks down the line of the women, and sees Camille leaning back in her chair, sending a victorious little smile towards the other end of the room. He follows her gaze towards Magnus, who’s clenching his jaw.

Their eyes meet, and Magnus gives a resigned little shrug.

Clary returns, Aldertree gives a sign, and Luke slips smoothly back into his presenter voice.

“So,” he says, “we’ve reached the end of the line. We have one final contestant, and one final choice, left. Magnus—which of our lovely ladies has caught your heart this week?”

***

_MEXICAN RESORT CONFESSION BOX—AFTER FIRE CEREMONY._

_INTERVIEWER_ : Camille, a lot has happened since you first arrived here at the hotel! How do you feel about Raphael choosing Clary as his partner? Had he confessed these feelings to you?

_Reprise of the footage of CAMILLE and RAPHAEL, seen through foliage, the camera panning in on their perturbed faces in slow motion._

_CAMILLE_ : Oh, Raphael has always been very secretive. We’ve been working together for three years now, and I’m always finding out new things about him. And he’s so hard to read. Sometimes, you’d even think he doesn’t like me!

 _INTERVIEWER, laughs_ : Well, you’re certainly right in that this secret admirer caught everyone off guard! But sad to say, it turned out to be unrequited love for our dear Raphael, who’s headed home after Clary decided to stay with her childhood friend Simon, your previous roommate. How does that  _feel_?

 _CAMILLE_ : I’m  _distraught_ at seeing Raphael go home, of course. And Simon will always be my little caramel… but all things considered, I think I’ve done well out of the bargain.

 _INTERVIEWER_ : Yes, do tell. When did it all start between you and Magnus? Tell us  _all_ the details.

 _CAMILLE, coy_ : A lady doesn’t kiss and tell. But suffice it to say, there’s always been a certain chemistry there...

INTERVIEWER: During the week, there have been other romances budding here in paradise. Any inside information you’re able to share?

 _CAMILLE, wide-eyed and innocent_ : I, for one, think it’s been  _wonderful_ to see the way Ragnor and Lydia have found each other. May-December romances are  _so_ romantic, don’t you think?

 _INTERVIEWER, looking to the side, awkwardly_ : Yes, well, um…

 _CAMILLE, laughs_ : Oh no, sorry, she’s  _married_ , isn’t she? I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to imply—

 _INTERVIEWER, a little too quickly_ : Our sibling pair, Jace and Alec, both seem to have been getting along very well with their roommates?

 _CAMILLE, smirks:_ Oh yes. Jace and Clary are adorable, aren’t they? And Alec and Aline… well, I think it’s safe to say that they’re more alike than people might think.

 _INTERVIEWER_ : You’re saying viewers might be surprised with what they’ll see, as the show goes on?

 _CAMILLE, smirk turning into the sweetest of smiles_ : I think the two of them will  _come out_ of this differently than they went in, yes. Of course, it’s all about  _honesty_. Of letting your true self be seen, and share this amazing journey with the viewers at home.

 _INTERVIEWER_ : Truer words never spoken. Thank you, Camille, and good luck with the next part of the race!

***

“What are you doing?” Jace asks, standing in the door to Alec and Helen’s new room. “And what are you  _wearing_? We’re going off for a beach day!”

“At this point, I’m not trusting anything they tell us,” Alec says, stuffing a coil of rope into his knapsack. He turns to look at Jace, who’s dressed in only a pair of swim trunks and is giving him an extremely sceptical look. “Are you not even going to bring a shirt?”

“Look,” Jace says, “this is all really weird, I know. I wasn’t expecting this twist into relationship drama type of reality show, either. But I figure it’s best to just roll with it, right?”

Alec gives him a look. Jace rolls his eyes, throwing his hands in the air.

“ _Fine_ , I’ll bring my swiss army knife just in case we get marooned,  _mom_.”

“And a shirt!” Alec calls after him with a grin, as Jace makes a rude gesture and leaves.

***

“So I guess we got marooned,” Jace says.

Alec narrows his eyes at him, as they stand on the beach, watching the yacht they arrived on disappear into the distance.

He looks over at Magnus and Ragnor, who have been doing an inventory of the crate they’ve been left with.

“It seems we’ll have to survive on rice, lemons and dried oregano,” Ragnor says. “It’s like being a grad student all over again.”

There’s a long, pregnant pause as the five of them contemplate this new reality.

“Well,” Simon says, finally, looking back at the rest of them with a too-wide smile. “At least the weather’s nice?”


	6. Outwit, Outplay, Outlast, part I

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _“So I guess we got marooned,” Jace says._

“Okay, first off, we need to secure water,” Alec says. “There’s vegetation in the jungle we can use to make containers to catch and store rainwater. Simon, Ragnor, take this sorry excuse for a machete and see what you can find.”

“But we have water,” Simon protests, gesturing at the two plastic jugs in the sand.

“That’s five gallons at most,” Jace replies, before Alec has a chance to. “There’s five of us, and with the heat, we’ll run through it in less than 48 hours. And that’s if we ration it carefully.” 

“What?!”

“Let’s just consider ourselves lucky they decided to film this show during the rainy season,” Alec says. “Jace, can you gather what we need to start a fire? We’ll need one when the temperature drops tonight.”

“Yeah, sure.”

“No need,” Ragnor cuts in. “I have both a lighter and a dreadfully overrated novel in my bag. Some writers should be told by their editors not to use semi-colons.”

Alec laughs. “In that case, Jace, how about you do a quick scout of the surroundings, instead?”

“You got it.”

“And what should  _ we _ do while they’re off providing?” Magnus murmurs quietly, as he moves past Alec and pretends to study the contents of their crate over his shoulder. “The cliffs over there look like good potential ground for caves, don’t you think?”

Alec feels his pulse grow quicker. He looks around, half-expecting a camera crew to materialise out of thin air. Magnus’ is standing close enough that Alec can feel his breath, and his skin tingles from the sensation. It suddenly dawns on him that as soon as the others leave, they’ll be completely alone—in an environment that’s bound to be difficult to cover with mics and cameras.

He wets his lips, and almost starts to tilt his chin down. 

“Not so fast!” someone shouts, and Alec starts guiltily. Luke is striding into view, grinning widely and followed by a group of camera technicians, as well as— 

“Oh no,” Simon breathes, as Camille saunters up in the back of the group.

Alec and Magnus exchange a glance. Whatever twist the show is about to drop on them, Alec doubts it’ll be pleasant.

“Jace, come back here!” Luke calls out. “I need you to stick around. Well… at least for now.”

Alec crosses his arms over his chest. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You’ll find out soon enough,” Luke replies. He turns and faces one of the cameras, delivering a dashing smile. “And so will  _ you _ . Right after these messages!”

***

“Hey,” Alec says, climbing over the last boulder to where Magnus is sitting. “You okay?”

They’ve all had a truly awful day. After Luke took Jace away to join the newly-formed girls’ team and left them with Camille, tempers started running high almost immediately. Alec doesn’t know just what went down between Camille and Simon during the time they shared a room at the resort, but from the way Camille keeps smirking at him, and the angry, closed-off look on Simon’s face, he guesses it was nothing good. And it’s not just Simon who’s reacting badly, either—Ragnor’s regularly dry humour has turned pointed and acidic, and whenever Magnus tries to smooth things over, the situation only gets worse.

He hasn’t missed the way Magnus moves around Camille either—with caution, and a too-pleasant smile on his face that doesn’t quite reach his eyes. Or the way Camille keeps casually invading his space: running her fingers down the length of Magnus’ arm, propping her chin up on his shoulder.

Needless to say, the camera team has absolutely loved every second of it.

“I just needed to get away for a while,” Magnus replies. He shuffles a little to the side, creating more space next to himself on the stony ground.

Alec hums in agreement and takes a seat. The sun disappeared beneath the horizon a few minutes ago, and the reds and golds of the sunset are quickly fading into dark purples and blues. The camera team finally left them after filming their meagre dinner and mounting some fixed cameras around their makeshift camp, and for the first time since the competition started, Alec is fairly sure that no one is watching them.

He and Magnus sit next to each other in silence until the light is all gone. It’s nice, Alec thinks. They might be stranded on a deserted island, but at least they got away from the hotel. He pulls in a deep breath through his nose, enjoying the crispness of the air and the scents of sand and ocean.

“I need to tell you something,” Magnus says. The strain Alec can hear in his voice makes him immediately on high alert.

“What is it?”

“I wasn’t really planning on bringing it up,” Magnus admits. “But with Camille here—I don’t want her to tell you whatever twisted version she’s created out of the original story.”

“Okay, now you’re making me a little worried,” Alec says. The memory of Camille’s smug smile as Magnus reluctantly put his necklace around her neck at the fire ceremony flashes across his mind. “Is this—Magnus, did something happen? Between you and Camille?”

“What? No, of course not.”

“I didn’t mean it like that. I just—don’t trust her.”

“And you shouldn’t,” Magnus says, with more force than necessary. Then he slumps a little, turning back towards the ocean with a sigh. “I was stupid enough to talk to her about my life, back before we left for the first leg of the race.”

Alec frowns. “Back when we—?”

“She caught me when I tried to sneak out of your room,” Magnus confirms. “It was a bad combination of her pretending to be charming and me finding myself in a way too charitable mood.”

Alec chuckles despite himself. He remembers how he, himself, felt that morning, waking up with the nearly tangible memory of Magnus’ touch. Jace kept elbowing him all through breakfast to make him focus on his food.

“Okay, so she caught you off guard and managed to learn your deepest, darkest secrets,” he says, rolling his eyes as another chuckle escapes him.

The next one quickly dies in his throat as he sees the look on Magnus’ face. “Magnus, what is it?”

Magnus presses his lips tightly together. Then he sighs again and turns to face Alec.

“You know how Ragnor and I have been telling everyone we’re here because we lost a bet with some professors in the Linguistics department? Well, that’s a total lie.”

“Okay…?” Alec replies, frowning a little. “Did you think I’d be upset about it? Because I’m really not—I kind of figured everyone here had a fake backstory. I mean, Jace’s and mine isn’t true either.”

“What’s the—” Magnus starts, and then he cuts himself off. “Sorry, I’m getting off track. Anyway, Camille found out that the real reason I applied is that I… have a book coming out this fall.”

Alec blinks, surprised. “A book.”

“I’ve wanted to write since I was a kid. One of the reasons I majored in English Lit.”

Alec feels a wide smile break on his face. “Magnus, that’s amazing!”

Magnus doesn’t reply.

“Um. Or not?”

Magnus sighs again. “No, it is. It’s just—it’s a very personal text. I—my mom and I didn’t have the easiest time of it when I was growing up. My dad was an abusive piece of shit—to put it politely—and once my mom managed to break free, we moved around a lot. I—wasn’t exactly a model child during that time. And from some of the not-so-subtle hints Camille’s been dropping lately, she knows people who know how to get their hands on someone’s old juvie records.”

Alec stays quiet. As the silence spreads between them, he reaches out and covers Magnus’ hand with his, squeezing his fingers in encouragement.

“I guess it’s thrown me for a loop,” Magnus says, then pauses again, pressing his lips tightly together once more. “I left that part of my life behind me so long ago; I know I’ll have to address some of it when the book comes out, but to think that it might resurface  _ now _ —before I can prepare and without having any control over what’s released—because I joined this  _ game _ just to gain exposure—” 

“Hey,” Alec says softly. His other hand goes to Magnus’ face on instinct, tilting it gently towards himself. “It doesn’t matter what Camille digs up. She’s a horrible person, and everyone around her knows it. You’re wonderful.”

The light has faded enough by now that it’s hard to make out any answering expression on Magnus’ face. Alec moves his thumb over Magnus’ cheek, and feels the muscles move ever so slightly under his touch. A smile. He caresses the patch of skin again, wanting to feel it more fully. His breath catches in his throat when Magnus’ hand comes up to cover his, and before he’s made a conscious choice to do it, he’s pulling Magnus closer, tilting his head to catch his lips with his own.

The kiss is soft, restrained in a way that makes it feel frighteningly new. Magnus’ lips are slightly chapped from working in the sun all day; Alec doesn’t know what it is about that detail that makes his heart feel like it’s suddenly growing too big for his chest. He lets his hand fall, bracing himself against the rock as the kiss makes his head spin.

They break apart slowly, neither of them really moving away. Alec keeps his eyes closed, letting the sweetness of the moment continue to roll through him. He can still feel Magnus’ breath on his face, the warmth of his skin...

“I didn’t want to come here,” he hears himself saying. “I told myself I was only doing it for Jace. He bought this beat up coffee truck when we got back from our last tour that he loves an unhealthy amount, and he needs money to turn it into something more permanent. But then I—” He breaks off, ducking his head as he feels the back of his neck flush with heat.

“But then you... what?” Magnus prompts.

“Then I met people I actually  _ liked _ ,” Alec replies. “I mean, having cameras following me all day has sucked—make no mistake—but I’ve still had a surprisingly good time? I’ve done a whole bunch of things I never thought I would—”

Magnus chuckles. “Like going on a terrifying roller coaster? Getting marooned on a tropical island?”

“More like rock climbing in Mexico. Going for a morning run on a beach at sunrise. I don’t know. Even with how crazy it’s been, I—wouldn’t go back and change it if I could, is what I guess I’m saying?”

Magnus nods in agreement, and even in the dim light, Alec can see how he quickly wets his lips before their eyes lock back together.

This time, it’s impossible to tell who leans in first. It happens by increments, bodies slowly swaying closer until there is no more distance to cross. The kiss that follows is deeper, more demanding, but still with an aching sweetness underneath the quickly growing hunger. Magnus’ hands land on Alec’s thighs, strong fingers digging into the muscle, making Alec groan. After days of sneaking off together without being able to find release, simply kissing Magnus like this is more than enough to get Alec’s body going. He grabs for Magnus’ waist, needing to pull him closer.

The harshness of the rocky surface they’re on stops things from spiralling completely out of control. They overbalance when Alec tries to pull Magnus into his lap, which leads to sharp pain at the centre of his back, which quickly kills the mood. Magnus fusses over his scraped skin, unable to fully contain his laughter at the ridiculousness that’s their current situation.

“I swear, when this is over, we’re locking ourselves in my bedroom without our phones for at least a week,” Alec grumbles, realising too late what he just said when Magnus freezes in the middle of pulling them both to their feet. 

They haven’t talked about what happens after the competition, and seeing the look on Magnus’ face now, Alec has a sinking feeling that they might not be on the same page. He mentally kicks himself for assuming, and quickly tries to backpedal. 

“I’m just saying, Izzy’s told me enough about her sexcapades that I’m  _ very _ sceptical to ever having sex on a beach.”

For a split second, he thinks he sees a flash of disappointment on Magnus’ face. Then Magnus raises a teasing eyebrow at Alec and moves past him as they start to walk back.

“Beach sex can be pretty awful,” he agrees casually, adding a suggestive smile that goes right back to wrecking havoc with Alec’s system.

He’s just about recovered and managed to stop imagining how gorgeous Magnus would look lying naked in the sand with the surf caressing his sun-drenched skin, when Magnus puts a hand on the small of his back, and leans into his space, putting his mouth right next to Alec’s ear.

“Sex in water, on the other hand, is amazing.”

Alec promptly trips over his own feet. Magnus’ laughter rings out, and then he’s quickening his steps, leaving Alec in the dust as he breaks into a run and heads in the direction of the camp.

***

_ Dramatic music playing as the camera pans over the open ocean and then coming up on a deserted beach. Close-ups on a snake curled around a tree branch, then a tropical bird waving its wings, then a makeshift pot of rice cooking over open fire. _

LUKE V.O.: After a week in paradise, it’s time for our contestants to show how they fare in the wild! It’s time for a battle of the sexes as the men and women compete against each other to stay in the competition!

_ Clips of the RED TEAM, featuring ALINE, HELEN, CLARY and LYDIA working together to build a shelter, followed by clips of the BLUE TEAM, featuring ALEC, MAGNUS, SIMON and RAGNOR trying to start a fire. _

LUKE V.O.: But! There’s a twist!

_ Images of JACE and CAMILLE slide in from either side of the screen in a shower of sparks. _

LUKE V.O.: There’s a maverick in the midst of each team! One man and one woman have been dropped into enemy territory, having to fight for their spot on the show. To their aid, they have a huge advantage: a ruby necklace, that will allow its wearer to challenge any of the other contestants to a one-on-one duel in case they find themselves up for elimination.

_ The dramatic music rises to a peak, the show logo blazing across the screen. _

LUKE V.O.: Stay tuned for more! This is—Adventure XXL! 

***

They’ve been standing on rickety bamboo floats for at least a couple of hours now, and Alec finds himself wondering how this is even supposed to make good TV. 

They’ve been on the island for roughly a week, and everyone’s exhausted. The camera crew wakes them at sunrise and follows them around while they do their best to survive in the wilderness. Then, around mid-afternoon, there’s challenges of different kinds—either individual ones that leads to one of them winning some kind of advantage, or team ones followed by an elimination ceremony. Alec figures the tempo is pitched as high as it is to get filming done quickly and cost-effectively, but the lack of rest is starting to become a real problem—and the added stress of having eliminations every couple of days doesn’t help the situation.

So far, the blue team has lost Simon, and is thus one man up compared to the red team, who has lost both Helen and Lydia. The challenge they’re doing today is an individual one, and the winner usually gets immunity from the next elimination round as part of their prize.

Alec definitely wants that immunity.

Clary and Jace are among the first to fall, needling each other with increasingly exaggerated movements until they lose their balance—almost simultaneously. After that, Camille drops gracefully and demonstratively off her own perch, swooning dramatically into the waiting arms of a nearby camera technician.

After that, it’s a waiting game. Aline manages to stay mostly focused, only breaking the silence occasionally for some mild heckling. Magnus returns the favour with some witty repartee of his own, and Ragnor spends the time lecturing all of them endlessly on the importance of Snorri’s Edda in the context of the Christening of Scandinavia and the changing views on sexuality—or something like that; Alec’s trying to not pay him too much attention. 

For himself, Alec spends the time reciting song lyrics in his head. It’s an old trick from back in his training days. Out of the corner of his eye, he can see Jace back on the beach, laughing and flirting with Clary as they work on setting up camp fires, but he pushes it out of his mind and focuses on his breathing. This is a challenge made for him.

Magnus is next to fall, and then goes Aline. Alec shifts his weight and moves his toes to make sure he keeps his circulation going. Ragnor is still talking—something about the portrayal of Loki through the centuries. It should be making him expend his energy too quickly, considering the heat, but somehow, he just keeps going. His voice is even and disturbingly soothing, too. Alec feels himself drawn in, despite himself, letting Ragnor’s unending lecture wash over him.

The next thing he knows, he’s under water. He kicks out with his legs on instinct, breaking the surface. A loud gong sounds, and when Alec has wiped his eyes and can see clearly again, he sees Ragnor standing alone on the last remaining float, looking unbelievably pleased with himself.

“To your credit, you lasted a lot longer than most of my students,” Ragnor says.

Alec, very maturely, does not splash salt water in his face.

***

“Want to go for a walk?” Alec asks Magnus quietly as they’re finishing up their dinner. It’s elimination night again, and with Ragnor having immunity from the float challenge, and Camille having her damn ruby necklace that lets her go one-on-one with whoever she wants, both of them are at risk.

Magnus nods and gets to his feet. They walk away from the camp and head down to the beach, keeping a bit of distance between them for the benefit of the two people with cameras and sound equipment who immediately follow.

Once they’re far enough away that they can no longer be seen from the camp, Alec slows his steps, and then turns to face the camera crew. “Okay. Question for you guys: I need to talk to Magnus alone for a couple of minutes. How do I make that happen?”

The camera technicians look back at him, clearly startled.

“We have pretty strict orders to follow everyone on your team tonight until the elimination ceremony starts,” one of them says, even as he lowers his camera. “Especially if you’re going to talk strategy. Aldertree’s been really riding us all to make sure to get any and all pacts on tape.”

“If I was going to try and form a pact, I’d be talking to Ragnor or Camille,” Alec replies bluntly. “They’re the ones with cards to play this round.”

“Come on, please cut us some slack,” Magnus adds, and then gives the second camera guy, who’s been quiet so far, a pleading look. “Jem, you remember the conversation we had at the hotel...?”

Alec sees his own surprise mirrored on the first camera man’s face. They both turn towards the sweet-looking, dark-haired guy—Jem, apparently—who’s looking back at Magnus with a small smile on his face.

“Give us something for Aldertree and we’ll keep away for fifteen minutes between now and the ceremony,” he offers.

“What? We can’t just—”

“It’s just fifteen minutes, Will,” Jem interrupts him. “We already have the fight from this morning, the fishing expedition, the team challenge and all the individual interviews for today.” He turns towards Alec and Magnus, the corner of his mouth twitching. “All right, give me some speculation about tonight’s elimination and then we’ll let you go. Sounds good?”

“Perfect. Just tell us where you want us.”

*** 

“What’s the story with you and Jem?” Alec asks, once the cameras have left, and they’re walking along the shoreline.

“Hmm? Oh, nothing much, really. I overheard an argument he was having with Aldertree about one of Aline’s segments, and helped improve his night by smuggling him some of our booze and listening to him rant for a while.”

Alec lets out a surprised chuckle. “Really?”

“He’s a very nice person. Who do you think provided the schedules of the camera crew?” Magnus asks, smirking back at him.

They walk together in silence for another hundred yards or so, gravitating steadily closer to each other, until their arms brush with every step. Alec’s heart does a little flip in his chest when Magnus’ hand finds his; it’s insane how close he feels to Magnus after only weeks together—and not even fully together at that.

He stops walking and brings Magnus to stand in front of him by reaching for his other hand. Clears his throat, as his heart begins to hammer.

“Magnus, I—”

Magnus stops him with a single finger raised up in front of his lips, hovering in the air without quite making contact. “Don’t do that.”

“Do what?”

“Say whatever you’re gearing up to say, in case one of us gets eliminated,” Magnus replies. He lets the finger fall, and Alec can’t keep back a smile as he watches its progress. “This fight is far from over.”

Alec wants to argue. The words he’s been practicing to himself since they lost the team challenge earlier that day burn in his chest. He needs to tell Magnus how he feels—needs to know if there’s something more between them than a crazy, competition-fuelled romance before he loses his chance. At the same time, he sees Magnus’ point: having a discussion about what happens after the competition feels a lot like giving up. 

As though Magnus can sense his inner conflict, he draws Alec’s attention back to their hands by tangling their fingers together. Then he uses the grip to bring Alec closer, pulling him in for a long, deep kiss.

“Tell me tonight,” he says, his voice coming out hoarse and affected. “We can sneak away for a while after the film crew go to bed, come down here to celebrate finally getting rid of Camille. Maybe take that midnight swim we’ve been talking about?”

He underlines his argument with another kiss, this one with enough heat behind it to make Alec lose his breath. 

He wraps his arms around Magnus and kisses back, moaning softly as their hips align, and they rock together for a few glorious moments.

“Tonight,” Magnus repeats, when he pulls away. And the way he says it—like it’s a certainty, rather than hope, or even a promise—makes Alec believe as well.

***

The location for the elimination ceremony is lined with enough torches to set the entire island aflame. Alec takes a seat next to Magnus on the in-danger-of-elimination side, while Ragnor goes to sit in the “safe” section opposite. Camille flounces in a couple of minutes later, her makeup redone and her hair freshly braided with tropical flowers. She’s dressed in a flowy wrap-around type of dress that perfectly shows off the ruby necklace around her neck. She sits down on Magnus’ other side, giving both of them a little smirk.

Alec can’t wait for her to leave the competition.

“Ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to Adventure XXL—the Adventure HOTTER Than Hell!” Luke announces as the cameras start rolling. “This week, the blue team lost the team challenge, meaning that one of their members will have to go home. The contestants will now cast their votes on which team member they think least deserves to stay in the competition and keep fighting for the price of  _ at least _ $250,000. Ragnor, as the only contestant safe from elimination tonight, please cast your vote first.”

There’s the, by now, familiar chaos as the camera crew makes sure that they get every angle and close-up they need of everyone as they go into the “voting booth”, tell the camera who they’re voting off the show and why, and then put a card with that name into the box next to Luke. The results are just as predicted: everyone has voted for Camille, except for Camille herself, who has voted for Magnus. Alec clenches her teeth as Magnus and Camille stand up from their seats, and the cameras swing over to Luke for his spiel on how the two of them will now face off one-on-one.

_ I’ll see you soon _ , Magnus mouths to him, before he leaves.

Alec pushes back the bad feeling in his gut and crosses his fingers.


	7. Outwit, Outplay, Outlast, part II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _LUKE V.O.: And we’re down to the final four!_

_ Familiar dramatic music plays, overlaying sweeping aerial shots of the island. The Adventure XXL logo blazes across the screen, followed by an equally punchy banner marked “Adventure Highlights—Island Edition”. _

LUKE V.O.: And we’re down to the final four!

_ Dramatic music intensifies as clips fly across the screen, recapping the eliminations and most note-worthy moments of drama since the contestants arrived on the island. CAMILLE is, once again, heavily featured, a wicked grin firmly in place as she plays with her RUBY NECKLACE. Each elimination vote is unanimous against her, which only makes her smile wider. Clips show how she beats first Simon in the one-on-one elimination challenge—moving through the steps of a complicated memory game with almost unnatural speed—then Magnus, and lastly, Alec. On the RED TEAM, the narrative focuses more on the relationships between JACE and the girls on the team, suggestive angles and soundbites pitting possible romances against one another. The elimination votes on the RED TEAM are shown to be close every time, as the team loses first LYDIA, and then HELEN. Finally, the clips show how JACE loses the one-on-one memory game challenge to CLARY, who takes over the advantage of the RUBY NECKLACE for the RED TEAM. _

LUKE V.O.: With only two people left on each team, the teams have been merged into one. Our final four will have to rely on each other to survive while competing with each other for the two spots in the finale.

_ Glamour shots of CLARY, ALINE, RAGNOR and CAMILLE line up on the screen. _

LUKE V.O.: Who will stumble on the finish line, and who will come out on top—one step closer to a cash prize of  _ at least _ $250,000? Find out next time, on Adventure XXL!

***

“Dude,  _ just call him already _ ,” Jace shouts from the other side of the room, sounding exasperated. Alec doesn’t bother with an answer; ever since he got back from the island, was reunited with Jace and dropped off at the non-descript hotel they’re in, his brother has been on him like a bad record on repeat.

“He has a point, you know,” Izzy says, her voice coming through a little tinny over the speakers of the tablet they’ve been given so that they can skype with their families. “He sounds like a great guy.”

“He is a great guy, and  _ I don’t know what hotel they’ve put him in nor do I have his number _ ,” Alec replies, raising his voice for the last part to see if it, miraculously, will make it through Jace’s thick head this time.

“So fucking google it! Or bribe one of the camera crew!” Jace shouts back. “I’m getting sick of all the moping.”

“I’m  _ not _ moping,” Alec tells Izzy. “And I did actually try to find his number; it’s unlisted.”

“Did you try to get it through his work?” Izzy asks. “You said he’s a professor at Columbia, right? I’m sure the department he’s with has his contact info.”

Alec drops his face into his hands.

“I’m heading down to the bar for a drink,” Jace says. “Izzy, talk some sense into him, please? Love you.”

“Love you too,” Izzy calls after him. She waits until she hears the door of the room slam shut and then turns her focus back on Alec. “Okay, big bro, talk to me. What’s really stopping you here?”

Alec moves his fingers to his temples, rubbing at the headache he can feel starting up.

“I don’t know,” he admits. “It’s just—we never actually talked about what we were doing, and now that I look back at it? We had a one night stand and then fooled around a little on set. What if that’s all it was and it was just the situation making it feel so intense?”

“Ah,” Izzy says, “You’re worried about the real life thing.”

“Wouldn’t you be?” Alec shoots back. “I mean, God, Izzy, this whole experience already feels like a crazy dream. I don’t—” he breaks off, biting down on his lower lips as he tries to put the mess in his head into words.

“I don’t want to find out that it was never real,” he confesses quietly. “I like him, Izzy. More than I’ve liked anyone in a really long time.”

“That sounds real enough to me,” Izzy replies gently, but then lets the subject drop. “Okay, now tell me everything about this red-headed wonder girl that Jace is a complete mess over.”

*** 

“Uh-huh. Yeah. Seriously? Okay, yeah, sure. Seven PM. Got it.”

Alec frowns as he quietly waits for the electric kettle to boil. Jace is on the phone with someone from the production company, and from the stunned look on his face, Alec’s guessing that he’s getting more than just the flight details for their trip back home.

“So, what’s the deal?” he asks, when Jace puts the phone down. “Are we in for yet another twist?”

“You could say that,” Jace replies, dazed. “They’re giving us a chance to get back in the race.”

“They’re what?”

“A car is coming to pick us up at seven. Wardrobe is sending over clothes to wear around six.”

***

“So, let’s go over this again,” Alec says as they’re sitting in a fancy limo in borrowed tuxedos, waiting.

“Right. What we know: the limo will drive up to wherever this is taking place. We’ll get out of it, and the two people still left in the competition will greet us. And then we’ll each have five minutes to convince either of them to pick one of us to bring back to the game for the final leg of the race.”

Alec nods. “All right. So if either of them is Clary, you go for it; if anyone’s going to convince her to pick another partner than Simon, it’ll be you.”

Jace flushes but doesn’t argue. Ever since they got the news, he’s been thrumming with nervous energy at the possibility of seeing Clary again. “If one of them’s Ragnor, you go; you were his team mate, and he likes you more than me.”

“If it’s Aline, we’ll decide depending on who the second person is,” Alec adds. “And if it’s Camille—”

“We’re both screwed,” Jace fills in, sighing.

After another half hour of waiting, their limo finally starts moving.

“Okay, let’s do this,” Alec says. “Ready?”

“Ready.”

The limo door opens and Alec steps out. They’re in the driveway in front of a huge mansion, a tastefully lit path of gravel showing them towards a pair of open doors. Alec shares a quick look with Jace, who automatically falls in line slightly behind him as they walk up the path. There’s music playing from inside the mansion—something classical, possibly a string quartet—and Alec notes no fewer than eight different camera technicians filming them as they walk.

“Alec, Jace, welcome,” a female voice says, and Alec feels relief flood him as he recognises it. Aline steps in front of him, dressed in a stunning evening gown. She’s arm in arm with Ragnor, who looks a mix of amused and exasperated.

“Aline! Awesome! Congratulations!” Jace pulls her into a big hug, almost lifting her off her feet. Aline laughs but hugs him back. 

“Please tell me you beat Camille,” Alec says, and Aline laughs again.

“Actually, Ragnor did.” She turns to Jace, an apologetic look on her face. “I was responsible for Clary getting sent home, though. Sorry.”

“Never apologise for being awesome,” Jace replies, and while Alec can hear the edge of disappointment in his voice, Jace covers it well. “Right, so, as far as we we understand, this is the part where we woo you guys to get you to let us back in the game?”

As though on cue, a buzzer sounds.

“Unfortunately, the time for that started the moment you exited the limo,” Ragnor says, looking definitely amused now. “You’re not the first ones to make that mistake, if that’s any consolation?”

“What? No!” Jace protests, even as an anonymous intern walks up to them and gestures towards a door to the left. “Come on. That’s not fair.”

“Through here,” the intern says. “We’re filming this entire part in one freakishly long take, so just go into the room, find your marks on the floor and stay there until someone tells you differently.”

“Jesus, what now?” Alec murmurs, low enough so that only Jace should be able to hear him. He steps through the door, looks up, and immediately finds himself frozen in his tracks.

On the other side of the room, standing tall up on a small dias in a tuxedo that looks like it was sculpted onto his body, is Magnus.


	8. Final Opportunities

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _“Welcome, contestants!” Luke exclaims, making a dramatic entrance coming down a central staircase to the sound of violins moving into a crescendo._

For a long critical moment, Alec can’t breathe. Magnus is there, in the same room, looking a million times better than even Alec’s rose-coloured fantasies paint him. His heart does a slow, painful flip in his chest. God, it’s been, what? Five days since Magnus got eliminated and three since Alec was? And still, Alec feels like all the air’s been suddenly sucked out of the room.

“You okay there, buddy?” Jace asks quietly from behind, and Alec forces himself to nod, because yes, why wouldn’t he be? He takes a step forward, and then another one, concentrating on drawing deep pulls of air into his lungs. The urge to go to Magnus, to grab him by the lapels of his jacket and pull him in for a kiss to put all other kisses to shame is so strong, he doesn’t know how he manages not to. He stumbles up the steps towards the mark on the floor with his name of it, eternally grateful to Jace, who keeps behind him, making sure he doesn’t fall on his ass.

“Just breathe,” Jace tells him. There’s a hitch in his voice that pulls Alec out of his own little bubble—and sure enough, as he looks around the room, there’s Clary in a slinky evening gown, smiling uncertainly back at them. 

Alec grabs Jace’s hand and pulls him in for a quick hug. The body contact, brief as it is, is familiar and grounding. He draws what strength he can from it and then lets Jace go to find his own mark on the floor. They’re last among the eliminated contestants to arrive. To his right, he sees Camille and Raphael, Lydia and John (who’s still on crutches, but looks extremely cheerful), and Helen. To his right is Jace, Clary and Simon, and, of course, Magnus.

“Welcome, contestants!” Luke exclaims, making a dramatic entrance coming down a central staircase to the sound of violins moving into a crescendo. “After weeks of fierce competition, Aline and Ragnor are the last two standing. Tonight, they get to make a choice: the last leg of the race will test the contestants’ athleticism, intelligence and abilities to work as a team. Ragnor and Aline both stand to win $250,000 dollars after previous challenges. Now both of them have to decide who to pick for a partner. Do they go back to the team mate they started their journey with and cash in  _ fifty thousand dollars _ right here, right now, or do they go for another contestant and  _ triple  _ their potential prize? Stay tuned for the nerve-wrecking finale! This! Is! Adventure XXL!”

***

_ Seductive violin music plays as the camera pans over each of the contestants in turn. Highlights from the show play across the screen, emphasising everyone’s relationship with the final two. ALINE and RAGNOR soundbites overlay the montage, adding their thoughts on each contestant in turn. Finally the camera zooms in on the two of them standing next to Luke, each with a pink-so-dark-it’s-nearly-red rose in hand. _

LUKE,  _ extending his arms dramatically to indicate the room:  _ Aline, Ragnor, make your choice of partners for the last part of the race.

_ RAGNOR goes first, rolling his eyes as he walks up to MAGNUS, handing him the rose with an exaggerated bow. _

LUKE,  _ while music swells dramatically _ : Ragnor goes back to his original team mate, taking the $50,000 cash prize instead of aiming for  _ three quarters of a million dollars _ !

_ The cameras swoop to ALINE, extreme close-ups of her face merging into each other on the screen. _

LUKE: Aline! The fate of the last person to join the game is in  _ your _ hands.

_ ALINE looks down at the rose, then at her original partner HELEN. HELEN nods and tilts her head, and ALINE grins in reply. She crosses the floor, stopping in front of ALEC. _

ALINE,  _ with a similar theatrical bow as the one done by RAGNOR _ : Alec Lightwood, will you be my partner for the last leg of the race?

ALEC,  _ accepts the rose with a wide grin on his face: _ Let’s [redacted] win this thing.

***

As soon as the shot at the mansion is over, Alec, Aline, Ragnor and Magnus are shipped off to do a million interviews, after which they’re put on individual planes and sent back to LA. The hotel they’re checked in at is the same as where they stayed before the first leg of the race, and Alec can’t help but feel like there’s a measure of fate in play when he walks into the hotel bar and sees Magnus sitting there, nursing a drink and chatting with the bartender.

Of course, hoping to run into Magnus was the only reason he went down to the bar in the first place—wherever this thing (or not) between them lands, it’s clear that they both have a weakness for reminiscing.

He feels his pulse pick up as he walks closer, the lingering ache that’s been refusing to leave him ever since Luke came back from overseeing the one-on-one challenge to announce that Magnus had been sent home, growing deeper in his chest.

“This seat taken?”

Magnus turns around, their eyes meet, and Alec promptly loses his breath. Magnus looks tired, even with the immaculate make-up he’s put on, and the need to pull him close and try to make things better hits Alec like a punch to the gut.

“Alexander. Fancy meeting you here.” The teasing lilt of his voice has Alec smiling. He takes a seat next to Magnus and gestures for the bartender to draw him a beer.

They sit next to each other in silence for several long minutes, each simply sipping their drinks. Alec thinks it should feel awkward, but it’s the opposite of that—with every moment that passes, the feeling of certainty inside of him grows; Magnus makes him want to be brave, to take the risk of letting someone truly see him, good and bad.

God, how did he ever manage to make himself doubt that this thing between them was real?

“Another round for you guys?” the bartender asks cheerfully. Alec gives her a small smile and shakes his head. He meets Magnus’ eyes and sees his own thoughts reflected back at him. They both reach for their wallets at the same time, quickly settling their bills before leaving the bar together. Magnus takes his hand as they reach the elevators, and the simple touch sends a shiver all the way down Alec’s spine.

“Did they put you in the same room as Aline?” Magnus asks as they enter the elevator, his voice coming out as affected as Alec feels.

“No. Separate ones.”

“Good,” Magnus breathes out, and then he’s slamming the button for the top floor, backing Alec up against the wall and kissing him like he’ll die if they have to wait a minute longer.

Alec fumbles for the control panel, managing to hit the button for his own floor while every one of his senses reel with the reality of  _ Magnus _ . Magnus’ touch, the taste of his mouth, the smell of him that goes straight to Alec’s head. He kisses back desperately, hands pressing into Magnus’ back, impatiently pulling his shirt out of his pants.

The elevator doors  _ ding _ and slide open. Alec moves his hands to the front of Magnus’ shirt, pulling him with him down the hotel corridor. Managing to get the key card in the door is somewhat of a miracle, and as soon as the door shuts behind them, they’re stumbling across the carpet, laughing into their kisses as they struggle to rid themselves of their clothes as quickly as humanly possible.

They finally reach the bed, and Alec falls back on it, pulling Magnus with him so that he lands on top of him.

Magnus props himself up on his arms, smiling down at Alec. “That was graceful.”

“Been thinking about it a lot,” Alec replies, and then grabs Magnus’ face to pull him down for more kisses.

Magnus’ little ‘oh’ gets swallowed in between their mouths, and just like that, the kisses turn deeper, less hurried. The urgency between them doesn’t lessen, but the way they touch becomes firmer, more deliberate as they rid each other of the last remaining pieces of clothing.

Alec gasps when Magnus sinks back on top of him, slotting in between his legs like he was made to fit there, rocking their hips together.

“Condoms?”

“Back pocket of my jeans,” Alec manages, groaning in protest when Magnus moves away from the bed to fetch them. 

Magnus finds the right pile among the scattered clothes and comes back, throwing a single use pack of lube to Alec while busying himself with getting the condom wrapper open. Alec almost tears the package in half, getting lube all over his hands in his haste to get the damn thing open.

Messy though it might be, it still works perfectly well, and soon Alec is drowning in heat as he quickly fingers himself open, his other hand stroking desperately up and down Magnus’ cock.

They’re both too worked up to take things slow, and from the moment Magnus sinks into him and bottoms out in one smooth stroke, it’s a race to the finish line. Alec grabs the back of his knees to pull them higher, tilting his hips until he finds the angle he needs for Magnus’ cock to hit exactly the right spot inside him with every thrust.

After that, it’s all he can do to just hold on and give as good as he gets as Magnus fucks him into the mattress. It’s hard, and fast, and glorious, every bit of tension accumulated over the past weeks finding an outlet in lips, hands, bodies coming together.

Alec’s dimly aware that they’re being loud—the kind of loud that usually drives Alec insane when he’s the one sharing a wall with the people in question—but even if he wanted to, he wouldn’t be able to tone it down. His world has narrowed down to the growing pressure in his groin, the hot air against his face as he and Magnus try to kiss between panting breaths, the throbbing fullness as Magnus drives into him, again, and again, and again.

Alec cries out as he comes, the loud moan breaking from his throat transforming into a shout when Magnus redoubles his efforts, fucking Alec through it until every single drop of pleasure has been wrung from both of them. He collapses on top of Alec with an almost pained-sounding groan, his cock inside Alec still twitching a little now and then from the force of his own orgasm.

They stay like that a lot longer than they should, almost forgetting about the condom until Magnus shifts with a groan and then freezes, his eyes going comically wide as he hurries to keep it secure while they separate. Alec takes one look at his panicked face and then bursts out laughing. He can’t help it—he just feels so damn good. Magnus gives him a dirty look as he gets the condom safely out of the way, but then the corners of his mouth are twisting too, and soon they’re lying next to each other on the bed, both laughing until their stomachs ache with it.

“Phew!” Magnus exclaims, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand as they finally start to calm down. “That was pretty ridiculous.”

“Guess we both had a lot of tension to release,” Alec replies, grinning back at Magnus as they turn towards each other, adjusting themselves to lie on their sides.

Magnus smiles and leans in, catching Alec’s lips for a lingering kiss before pulling back. “Guess we did.”

“I missed you,” Alec murmurs, chasing Magnus’ lips. “It drove me crazy, being away from you.”

“Me too,” Magnus admits. “More so than I liked.”

Alec nods in agreement, and then gives a contented sigh, shifting over on his back to properly stretch out his legs.

“You know, ever since I was little, I always had this really clear picture of what my life would be like,” he says, surprising himself with how easily the words come. “Most of my family’s military, including both my parents; Izzy, Jace and I grew up moving from base to base. So it was kind of expected that the three of us would serve as well.”

“I can’t imagine what that’s like,” Magnus confesses. “Growing up, I didn’t have much of a plan at all.”

“I didn’t mind it. In a way, there’s comfort in that kind of life—you know what’s expected of you, what your responsibilities are; it’s a clear path to follow.”

“I’m sensing a ‘but’?”

“It’s not really that,” Alec says. “It’s more—I started to really feel the strain of being away from home during my last tour. I mean, Jace was in the same place as me, but everyone else was back in the US. I started missing these stupid things, like the smell from the deli on the corner of Izzy’s building.”

Magnus nods. He shifts a little closer, enough that he can slide one of his calves over Alec’s. The contact is both intimate and casual, somehow; it makes Alec smile.

“When I was seventeen, I met this girl named Dot,” Magnus says. “Funny, sassy, absolutely brilliant—a  _ huge _ fan of Freddie Mercury’s. She was volunteering at this… outreach program that I’d been put in contact with. I tried to flirt with her, and she shot me down. In my quest to impress her, I got my GED and started community college. And then I met English Literature, and  _ boom _ . True love.” He chuckles to himself, and Alec can’t help but smile as well.

“It’s a bit like what you described,” Magnus continues, “sometimes you’re on a specific path, and there’s comfort in the familiarity of that. But then, sometimes, someone comes along and pushes you off that path. And, to paraphrase Frost, that can make all the difference.”

“What happened to her?”

“We had a glorious fling during Spring Break my junior year and then settled back into being best friends. She’s married to another great friend of mine now, and they have an amazing little girl called Madzie. She just turned four and she  _ loves _ soap bubbles. Cat and Dot made me her godfather after she was born.”

The softness creeping into Magnus’ voice makes Alec’s heart skip a beat. He reaches down and grabs Magnus’ hand on instinct, pulling Magnus closer until they’re flush together once again.

“I’d love to meet them,” he hears himself say, and then blushes, because, wow, way to do the complete opposite to playing it cool. Amazing sex and the weird, intense kind of intimacy fostered by being on the show aside, they haven’t even been on a first date yet.

His worries fade the next moment, however, as Magnus’ face lights up. He pounces, coming down on top of Alec and claiming his mouth in a short, searing kiss.

“They’re having an annual barbecue three weeks from now,” he says. “Come with me?”

Agreeing feels completely crazy and, at the same time, not crazy at all. Alec nods his head, murmurs a  _ yes _ against Magnus’ lips, and any further conversation gets lost in more kisses, which grow increasingly involved until they naturally segue into round two of some pretty mind-blowing sex. Alec drifts off with a smile on his face and Magnus’ fingers tangled with his. He’s still smiling when he wakes up, and while Magnus is gone from the bed, there’s still a lingering warmth on the sheets where he slept.

Also, there’s a note on the pillow. Alec reaches for it, smile widening.

_ So that we won’t have to miss each other anymore _ , the note says, followed by what has to be Magnus’ number.

Alec buries his face back into his pillow and closes his eyes, stupidly happy. 


	9. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _The intro music for a late night talk-show plays, as cameras pan over an applauding live audience and a house band, to stop on the show’s HOST at the centre of the room._

_ The intro music for a late night talk-show plays, as cameras pan over an applauding live audience and a house band, to stop on the show’s HOST at the centre of the room. _

SHOW HOST,  _ facing the camera _ : It’s been eight months since season one of  _ Adventure XXL—The Adventure HOTTER Than Hell! _ came to a close. The innovative reality show became a massive hit almost overnight, pulverising the ratings of its competitors. Tonight, we have season one winners Aline Penhallow and Alec Lightwood with us in the studio. Let’s give them a warm welcome, everyone!

_ The house band breaks out into a medley of Adventure XXL’s various pieces of intro music. The camera veers to a door to the left, where ALINE and ALEC are entering the studio. The studio audience cheers wildly, some people calling out their names, or shouting words of congratulations to ALINE, who is visibly pregnant. _

SHOW HOST,  _ after hugging both of them enthusiastically _ : Wow! What a response! Aline, Alec, welcome to the show!

_ ALINE and ALEC take their seats. _

ALINE: Thank you. It’s good to be here.

SHOW HOST: And congratulations are in order I see! When’s the baby due?

ALINE: Four more months to go now.

SHOW HOST: Amazing! You must be so excited!

ALINE,  _ poking the side of her stomach and grinning as it moves a little to the side and then shifts right back _ : I am. This little person has been in the works for quite a while; it’s going to be fun to finally meet them.

_ Audience makes a synchronised ‘awwww’ sound. _

SHOW HOST: A lot has happened since the show, and several of your fellow contestants have gone on to some exciting new projects...

_ She gestures to a big screen on the wall, where a montage of news clippings begins to play. _

SHOW HOST: Clary and Simon started a hugely popular travel blog. Magnus released a book that stayed in the top ten on the New York Times bestseller list for twenty-two weeks. Your original team mate Helen, Aline, won one gold and one silver medal at the Winter Olympics!

_ Audience claps wildly. ALINE and ALEC clap along with them, big grins on their faces. _

SHOW HOST: And, of course, who could forget one of the biggest Hollywood scandals of the year, when Camille got caught trying to blackmail a very influential director?

_ An unflattering mugshot of CAMILLE fills the screen. Both ALINE and ALEC keep on clapping. _

SHOW HOST: So, what has life after the show been like for you guys? Any new and exciting projects you want to tell us about?

ALEC: I think we’ve both been taking it pretty easy, actually. Jace and I started up a coffee shop after we got back, so I’ve mostly been focusing on that.

ALINE: It’s a  _ great _ coffee shop. We practically live there when we’re in New York.

ALEC,  _ in a faux stage whisper _ : visit  _ Java Jace _ when in Brooklyn. We have cookies.

SHOW HOST,  _ to ALEC _ : You and Magnus Bane became friends during the show, which lead to the moment in the finale when you—despite being on different teams—temporarily joined forces to help each other through a part of the obstacle course. What’s happened since, are the two of you still friends?

ALEC,  _ with a perfectly straight face _ : We are, yes. Not quite on the level of Aline and Helen, just yet, but, we’re getting there.

ALINE,  _ smirking _ : I’d even say they’re catching up fast.

ALEC  _ grins and gives her stomach a pointed look _ : I politely disagree.

SHOW HOST: Wonderful! And what about the other contestants? Aline, you and Ragnor seemed to strike quite a chord as you fought your way through that pit of snakes together!

ALINE,  _ sarcastically _ : Yes, that was definitely a bonding experience.

SHOW HOST: Gearing up to the second season, what words of advice can you give future contestants? How do you make your adventure HOTTER than hell?

ALINE,  _ innocently _ : I’d say it’s all about the partner you bring. Even if you don’t get to stay on the same team, you know they’re always there to have your back.

SHOW HOST: Alec, do you agree?

ALEC: Partly. But it’s also about the people you meet, I think. They might end up surprising you.

SHOW HOST: And that’s the last question we have time for tonight, unfortunately. Thank you, season one winners, Aline and Alec, and best of luck in the future! 

_ She turns to the camera, as end credits start to roll on the side of the screen. _

SHOW HOST: Next week we give you the inside scoop of Morgenstern Productions’ new hit show  _ Meet My Evil Twin/Beat My Evil Twin _ ! Tune back in for the  _ best _ of entertainment news, here on Tuesdays at 8 PM, 7 central. Have a great night!

_ Credits roll. Fade to black as the house band starts playing, and the audience claps and cheers. _

THE END

**Author's Note:**

> This story is part of the [LLF Comment Project](https://longlivefeedback.tumblr.com/llfcommentproject), which was created to improve communication between readers and authors. This author invites and appreciates feedback, including:
> 
> Feedback
> 
>   * Short comments
>   * Long comments
>   * Questions
>   * Constructive criticism
>   * “<3” as extra kudos
>   * Reader-reader interaction
> 

> 
> [LLF Comment Builder](https://longlivefeedback.tumblr.com/post/170952243543/now-presenting-the-llf-comment-builder-beta)
> 
> Author Responses  
> This author replies to comments.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Adventure XXL Trailer](https://archiveofourown.org/works/13951242) by [Catastrokey (orphan_account)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/Catastrokey)




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